Cates v. Brown

Robert H. Dudley, Justice.

The issues in this case are governed by the law of torts. Appellee Roy Brown was the operator of a logging truck belonging to appellee Gaylor Thomas. The truck held a full cargo of pulpwood logs on its bed and was parked unattended on a descending slope in a line of trucks to be unloaded at the Arkansas Kraft Corporation in Conway. One of the appellants, Billy H. Cates, a carpenter, was engaged in construction work downhill from the unloading area. Either the gear became disengaged or the braking mechanism failed, or both, and the truck rolled toward Cates. He was…