Signs v. Signs
Signs v. Signs
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff’s case is based upon the contention that defendants were negligent either in leaving the gasoline pump unlocked or improperly locked or in failing to drain all the gasoline from its hose.
The undisputed evidence discloses that plaintiff’s mother and father occupied the premises owned by his mother as the home of themselves and their children; that plaintiff’s father made his living for the family from the partnership business of the defendants; that the gasoline tank with its pump was placed on the property by plaintiff’s father several weeks before plaintiff was injured; that it was thereafter used there in the conduct of the partnership business at least with the acquiescence of plaintiff’s mother; and that plaintiff was Avarned by both his father and mother to stay away from this tank and knew that he was not .supposed to play around it.
Even without such a warning, if plaintiff had strayed from his home premises onto the premises of a neighbor where such a gasoline pump had been maintained, he could not have recovered from the neighbor
If we assume, as plaintiff contends, that plaintiff was not a trespasser because the gasoline pump was located on his home premises, let us consider what rights another child would have had against defendants if such other child had been invited by plaintiff or plaintiff’s parents to enjoy their hospitality. The duty of the occupier of the premises with respect to such a social guest are set forth in paragraph three of the syllabus in Scheibel v. Lipton, 156 Ohio St., 308, 102 N. E. (2d), 453. It is apparent that the occupiers
We see no reason for recognizing plaintiff as having greater rights with respect to recovery from his father than he would have had if he had sought to recover from some other party who, under similar circumstances, did or failed to do just what his father is claimed to have done or failed to do. Certainly, a parent is not subject to a more extensive liability in a personal-tort action merely because the plaintiff is his unemancipated minor child instead of someone else’s child. All the cases cited in the previous decision by this court in this cause, in which a child was suing his parent, involved instances where the child only sought to be placed in the same position with respect to liability of his parent as he would have been if he had been suing someone other than his parent.
In our opinion the motion for a directed verdict should have been granted. The judgment of reversal of the Court of Appeals is therefore modified and final judgment is rendered for defendants.
Judgment modified and final judgment for defendants.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.