Patterson v. Blair

Opinion of the Court by

Justice ROACH.

I. INTRODUCTION

Tommie Lee Patterson brought suit against Thomas Blair, Jr. (“Blair, Jr.”) and Tommy Blair, Inc., d/b/a Courtesy Auto-plex (“Courtesy”). Patterson alleged several causes of action against Blair, Jr. and claimed that Courtesy was vicariously liable for the tortious acts of its employee, Blair, Jr. A jury awarded Patterson damages of $42,465.18 and found that Courtesy was vicariously liable for Blair, Jr.’s conduct. A divided panel of the Court of Appeals held that Blair, Jr. was not acting within the scope of his employment and therefore…