Stevens v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Fresno

Opinion

FRANSON, J.

This is a wrongful death action by the heirs of Clifford L. Stevens and Robert W. Stevens, who died as a result of injuries sustained in a collision between their automobile and one driven by Fr. Copentipy, a missionary Catholic priest from Bayonne, France. The plaintiffs sued Fr. Copentipy and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Fresno, a corporation sole, hereinafter “Bishop of Fresno,” the latter on the basis of an alleged principal-agent relationship. At trial Fr. Copentipy stipulated to liability and the case went to the jury on the issues of the liability of the Bishop of…