Supreme Court of Alabama, 1993

Smith v. Marshall County

Smith v. Marshall County
Supreme Court of Alabama · Decided March 12, 1993 · Maddox, Almon, Adams, Houston, Steagall, Hornsby, Shores, Ingram
619 So. 2d 1334; 1993 Ala. LEXIS 287; 1993 WL 65854 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Smith v. Marshall County

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

This case involves a one-vehicle accident. The plaintiff appeals from a judgment rendered on a jury verdict in favor of the defendants. The sole issue is whether the trial court erred in refusing to give charges on comparative negligence. We affirm on the authority of Williams v. Delta Inter*1335national Machinery Corp., 619 So.2d 1330 (Ala. 1993).

AFFIRMED.

MADDOX, ALMON, ADAMS, HOUSTON and STEAGALL, JJ., concur. HORNSBY, C.J., and SHORES and INGRAM, JJ., dissent.

Dissenting Opinion

HORNSBY, Chief Justice

(dissenting):

I respectfully dissent. See my special opinion in Williams v. Delta International Machinery Corp., 619 So.2d 1330 (Ala. 1993).

SHORES, J., concurs.

Dissenting Opinion

INGRAM, Justice

(dissenting).

I respectfully dissent. I would adopt the doctrine of comparative negligence, because it would provide the people of Alabama with an up-to-date judicial tool that would promote greater fairness in negligence actions.

We live in the remarkable age of technology in so many areas of our lives. Yet, by retaining the doctrine of contributory negligence, we continue to adhere to the most outmoded concept in our justice system.

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