Laster v. Tatum

The plaintiff, Rebecca M. Tatum, was injured when an automobile in which she was riding struck a tree on the side of a private road. This appeal is from a judgment for $15,000 entered for her against the executrix of Raymond David Burke, the driver of the automobile.

We should consider, first, whether the evidence brought forth at the trial, viewed most favorably to the plaintiff, was sufficient to sustain the jury’s finding of gross negligence, proximately causing the accident. Indeed, a finding that the evidence was not sufficient will end our inquiry, since the guest-passenger’s judgment…