Austin v. Cox

The plaintiff, Phillip Clark Austin, appeals from a summary judgment granted in favor of the defendant, Daryl Dewayne Cox. This case arises out of a two-vehicle collision in which a police car, being driven by on-duty policeman Austin, collided with a car driven by Cox. Both parties were injured, and both claimed to be free of fault.

Three separate lawsuits resulted from this occurrence, although, for the sake of discussion, only one of the lawsuits is relevant here. In that lawsuit, Austin on February 17, 1981 filed a complaint alleging negligence and wantonness against Cox and Cox's father.1…