Moore v. Fargo Public School District No. 1
North Dakota Supreme Court
815 N.W.2d 273 (2012)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
MM (plaintiff), a minor, was seriously injured while practicing a bicycle stunt in his school’s auditorium for a class. MM and his father, Thomas Moore (plaintiff), sued Fargo Public School District No. 1 (Fargo) (defendant) and Eugenia Hart (defendant), one of MM’s teachers. The jury awarded $285,000 in past medical expenses to Moore, but it apportioned 70% of the fault for MM’s injuries to MM and apportioned only 30% of the fault to Fargo and Hart. The North Dakota comparative-fault statute barred a plaintiff from recovering damages if his fault exceeded that of the defendants. The trial court therefore found that Moore was barred from recovering damages because MM’s fault exceeded the fault of Fargo and Hart. Moore appealed, arguing that since a parent is not responsible for the actions of his child, the comparative-fault law should not bar the parent of a tortiously injured child from recovering damages for past medical expenses in proportion to the tortfeasor’s fault.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Sandstrom, J.)
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