Hayes v. Henley
Annotate this CaseReginald Hayes appealed the circuit court's dismissal of his action against Jo Ann Henley both individually and in her capacity as the personal representative of the estate of her deceased husband Earl Hoyt Henley (Hoyt). Hayes sustained injuries when his automobile struck a horse on a highway. The horse rolled onto the roof of the automobile and the roof collapsed, breaking Hayes's neck and rendering him a quadriplegic. Hayes filed a multicount complaint against Mazda and against Henley, alleging that the horse he struck belonged to Hoyt and/or Henley and that Hoyt and/or Henley had allowed the horse to roam onto the highway thereby causing the accident. As to Mazda, Hayes alleged that the automobile was defectively designed and/or manufactured and that it was not crashworthy. The circuit court entered two orders in which it granted Henley's motions and dismissed the claims against Henley individually and as representative of the estate. Upon review, the Supreme Court found that "the circuit court's order disposing of Hayes's claims against Henley in her individual capacity is due to be affirmed. We cannot reach the same conclusion, however, as to the circuit court's disposition of all Hayes's claims against Henley in her capacity as personal representative of Hoyt's estate." The Court reversed the circuit court's ruling that the estate "knowingly and willfully" placed the horse upon the highway.
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