Collins v. Liquid Transporters

MILLIKEN, Justice.

We are asked to impose strict or absolute liability upon a shipper of large quantities of gasoline by tank truck upon tire public highways. The appellants sued Liquid Transporters, Inc., a licensed carrier, for damages from fire allegedly caused by the negligent operation of a tank truck containing over 4,000 gallons of gasoline which was being transported for the shipper, Standard Oil Company of Kentucky, to one of its distributing centers. The appellants based their action against Standard Oil upon the theory that the transportation of such a large quantity of gasoline…