Brill v. Davajon
Illinois Appellate Court
51 Ill.App.2d 445, 201 N.E.2d 253 (1964)
- Written by Heather Whittemore, JD
Facts
Frank McFarland was a cab driver who worked for the Checker Taxi Company (Checker) (defendant). One night, while working, McFarland came across a stalled car driven by Joel Davajon. McFarland offered to push Davajon’s car with his Checker-owned cab. While McFarland was pushing Davajon’s car, the vehicles collided with a car driven by David M. Brill (plaintiff). Brill filed a lawsuit related to his injuries, seeking damages from Davajon as the driver of the stalled car and Checker through the doctrine of respondeat superior. Checker filed a motion for a directed verdict holding that it was not liable for McFarland’s actions under the doctrine of respondeat superior. To support its motion, Checker argued that McFarland was not acting in the normal course of his employment when he pushed Davajon’s car with his cab. Checker presented evidence showing McFarland’s actions violated a company policy that forbade employees from using cabs to push other cars. The trial court denied Checker’s motion. Checker appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Dempsey, J.)
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