Crittendon v. State Oil Co.

This is an appeal by the defendant, State Oil Company (herein called State), from a judgment rendered against it by the trial court in a matter heard without a jury. The plaintiff, Douglas R. Crittendon, brought this suit for the recovery of damages to his automobile caused by Gary Mendenhall (herein called Mendenhall), the operator of a service station owned by State.

The plaintiff took his Chevrolet car to the service station operated by Mendenhall and, while there, discussed the problem of its faulty wheel bearings with Mendenhall. Apparently, he asked Mendenhall if he had repaired…