Palmer Chemical & Equipment Co. v. Gantt
Palmer Chemical & Equipment Co. v. Gantt
Opinion of the Court
In case 45866 Tracy R. Gantt, a minor, filed suit by next friend for damages against Palmer Chemical & Equipment Company, Inc. The petition alleged that the plaintiff was injured because of the careless management of a chimpanzee which was in the defendant’s private zoo. In case 45867 Anthony Gantt, the minor’s father, sought recovery for medical expenses arising out of the same incident. In each case, the defendant moved for summary judgment which was denied by the trial judge. A certificate for immediate review was entered and defendant appeals.
The evidence revealed that: the defendant maintained a private zoo where various wild and vicious animals, including a chimpanzee, were kept; the family of Anthony Gantt and several relatives arrived at the premises of appellant company for the purpose of personal pleasure and enjoyment of viewing the animals; the family group had been invited to view the animals by a Miss Floy Terry, an employee of the defendant. Miss Terry had not specified any particular time or date, but had requested the Gantts in the summer of 1967 and again in the summer of 1968 to come and visit; the family group arrived at approximately noon, reported to the office pursuant to signs, and asked for Miss Terry; after they waited for several minutes, Miss Terry arrived and proceeded to guide the family group to see the animals; there was no charge for viewing the animals, no donation for the upkeep of the animals was requested arid the defendant offered nothing for sale to the family group prior to, during or subsequent to the animal tour; the
It is a question for the jury whether the act of the defendant’s employee in removing the chimpanzee from its cage complied with that degree of care required by the above quoted Act. See Candler v. Smith, 50 Ga. App. 667, 670 (179 SE 395).
The overruling of the motion for summary judgment was not error.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.