Hatch v. Ford Motor Co.
California Court of Appeal
163 Cal. App. 2d 393, 329 P.2d 605 (1958)
- Written by Tiffany Hester, JD
Facts
Six-year-old Charles Hatch (plaintiff) was walking down the street when he ran into a parked car and punctured his eye on the car’s long protruding hood ornament. Hatch lost his eye as a result and subsequently brought a negligence claim against the car’s manufacturer, Ford Motor Company (defendant). Hatch alleged that Ford did not use reasonable care in designing the car with the hood ornament. Hatch also alleged that Ford was negligent per se for violating a California statute that prohibited the sale of any new car equipped with a protruding hood ornament. The trial court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a cause of action. Hatch appealed to the California Court of Appeal.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Nourse, J.)
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