White v. Larkin
White v. Larkin
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This was an action for damages for personal injuries sustained by plaintiff when he was riding as a pass'enger on a bus owned by the defendants, Covert and Larkin, and operated by Patterson, their servant, agent and employee, in which plaintiff sought to recover both actual and punitive damages. The appeal is from an order of the court sustaining defendant’s demurrer to that portion of the second amended petition which attempted to state a cause of action for punitive damages. The sole question is whether the second amended petition stated a cause of action for punitive damages.
While the second amended petition is lengthy, covering eleven pages of the printed abstract, for our purposes it may be stated briefly as follows: The defendants, Covert and Larkin, partners, were the owners of a bus operated by their driver Patterson, engaged in transporting persons living in the vicinity of El Dorado to their work at the Cessna airplant in Wichita, a distance of perhaps thirty-five miles. On the date in question plaintiff purchased a ticket and boarded the bus in El Dorado and became a passenger for hire. After the bus had proceeded about fifteen miles on an improved
While the petition contains fourteen grounds of negligence, the principal ground of complaint is that the driver of the bus was negligent in not properly repairing the tie rod when it was first found to be out of repair.
We have examined the petition carefully and find nothing substantial therein which would authorize or justify an award of punitive damages.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- William L. White v. Paul Larkin: W. V. Covert: Paul Larkin and W. V. Covert, doing business as Covert & Larkin, a Partnership J. F. Patterson, and Hartford Accident & Indemnity Company, a Corporation
- Status
- Published