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111. Should the trial court allow the case to go to the jury with a res ipsa loquitur instruction?
The trucker sued the farmer for his damages and invoked the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. At trial, the farmer introduced evidence that his cattle pen was of a sufficient height to prevent cattle from stepping over it and was constructed of thick steel pipe sitting in concrete with a substantial top rail. A sturdy pen such as this one would be more difficult for cattle to break through than one constructed of barbed wire or electric wire.
A trucker driving down an isolated country road late one night struck cattle that had escaped from a farmer's pen and wandered into the road. The trucker was unable to stop before hitting the cattle but was not driving carelessly. While he was not injured in the collision, the trucker sustained damage to his truck and lost income during the time it took to repair the truck.
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A is incorrect. Res ipsa loquitur allows an inference of the farmer's negligence even though it is possible that a third party let the cattle out of the pen. Here, the farmer was in exclusive control of his farm, and the trucker did not contribute to the accident. The jury may infer that the cattle escaped due to the farmer's negligence.
B is incorrect. Res ipsa loquitur allows an inference of negligence in the absence of direct proof of negligence. The trucker needs to establish that the farmer was in exclusive control of the pen, that the accident would not have occurred but for negligence, and that the accident was not due to the trucker's own actions.
C is incorrect. If an accident is caused by a motorist colliding with livestock on a public roadway, there is no trespass to land and therefore, no strict liability claim. Generally, a defendant who is responsible for a farm animal that strays onto a public roadway is liable for negligence only.