Hinnant v. Holland

BECTON, Judge.

This wrongful death action arose from a one-car accident in which a passenger was killed. From judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of defendants, plaintiff appeals. For the reasons set out below, we reverse the judgment and remand for a new trial.

I

On 19 December 1985, defendant James Neal Holland (“Neal”), age 16, drove his high school classmates to the home of a needy family to deliver Christmas presents as part of a school project. Neal drove a Chevrolet Blazer owned by his father, the defendant James William Holland. On the trip back to school, Sandra Leigh Hinnant…