White v. Wayne A. Lowdermilk, Inc.

OPINION

WOOD, Chief Judge.

The dispositive issues in defendant’s appeal are: (1) whether the trial court could properly enter judgment on a theory of bailment and (2) the presumption of negligence in a bailment situation.

Defendant was the contractor on a highway construction project. Plaintiff had a front-end loader which he rented to defendant and which was used on the construction project. At the end of the working day, the loader was parked on the median strip of the highway. During the night, an unknown person came onto the construction project, started the loader, drove it through a fence…