Barclay v. CC Pitts Sand and Gravel Company

It is a solemn moment when we overturn a general practice that has been acceptable to the bench and bar for more than a quarter of a century. The failure to exercise proper control has been repudiated as an issue in personal injury litigation though it has become a substantial part of our trial practice.1 I have failed to find any previous judicial criticism of the issue. On the contrary it has been either expressly or tacitly sanctioned by many judges who have carefully considered it.2

It is my judgment that we unduly confuse the bench and bar when we sweep aside a practice that has been…