Hiltner v. Owners Insurance Co., No. 16-3217 (8th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit reversed the district court's award of damages to plaintiff for injuries that she sustained in a vehicle-related accident. The court held that the district court improperly applied a heightened duty to the sober designated driver for a group of intoxicated passengers. In this case, the findings of fact were insufficient to support apportioning greater fault to the driver based on her duty to exercise reasonable care in driving the vehicle. Accordingly, the court remanded for new findings and conclusions on the allocation of fault.
Court Description: Colloton, Author, with Wollman and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Torts. The district court erred in imposing a heightened duty on the driver in this accident because of her role as the sober designated driver for a group of intoxicated passengers; the findings of fact are not sufficient to apportion greater fault to the driver based on a duty under Section 324 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts; the judgment is vacated, and the matter is remanded for new findings and conclusions on the allocation of fault.
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