Stump v. Phillians
Cases that cite this one
14 later published cases cite this decision.
- Lonzrick v. Republic Steel Corp. (Ohio 1966)
- Roman v. Estate of Gobbo (Ohio 2003)
- Bass v. Lucas (Ohio Ct. App. 1999)
- Weitzel v. Wingard (Or. 1976)
- State v. Thomas (Ohio Ct. App. 2014)
- Roman v. Estate of Gobbo, Unpublished Decision (12-20-2001) (Ohio Ct. App. 2001)
- Cartwright v. Firemen's Ins. Co. of Newark, NJ (La. Ct. App. 1968)
- Transportation Corp. v. Lenox Trucking, Inc. (Ohio 1968)
- Oechsle v. Hart (Ohio 1967)
- State v. Simpson, 07ca000022 (3-11-2008) (Ohio Ct. App. 2008)
- Farkas v. Ramage, Unpublished Decision (9-28-2000) (Ohio Ct. App. 2000)
- Kuhn v. Zabotsky (Ohio 1967)
- Moore v. Siebelt (Ohio 1966)
- City of Kettering v. Greene (Ohio 1966)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion of the Court
An operator of a motor vehicle has control over its brake equipment and the maintenance thereof. He has a statutory duty to maintain the brakes in good working order at all times. Ordinary care is not sufficient to constitute compliance. An emergency caused by brake failure cannot serve as a legal excuse for defendant’s failure to comply with the assured-clear-distance-ahead provision of Section 4511.21, Revised Code. Spalding v. Waxler, 2 Ohio St. 2d 1, paragraph six of the syllabus; Bird v. Hart, 2 Ohio St. 2d 9.
Defendant was negligent as a matter of law, and reasonable minds could conclude only that his negligence was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s vehicle being struck. Therefore, the trial court should have directed a verdict in favor of plaintiff on the question of liability and submitted only the question of damages to the jury. Kehrer v. McKittrick, 176 Ohio St. 192; Bird v. Hart, supra.
Judgment reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.