Throop v. F.E. Young & Company
Arizona Supreme Court
382 P.2d 560 (1963)
- Written by Craig Conway, LLM
Facts
While driving along a highway, Peter Hennen, a salesman for F.E. Young & Company (Young) (defendant), swerved into an oncoming lane. Hennen’s vehicle struck a car driven by Vernon Throop in a head-on collision. Both men were killed in the accident. Marie Throop (plaintiff), Vernon’s wife, filed a wrongful-death action against Young and Robert Stauffer, the administrator of Hennen’s estate (defendant). Throop alleged that Young, as Hennen’s employer, was equally responsible for Hennen’s negligent conduct. At trial, the evidence showed that Hennen was given great discretionary authority over important details regarding his work. Hennen had no in-office duties, controlled all the details regarding his sales trips, and only visited the Young office a few times annually. At the close of the evidence, Hennen and Young each moved for a directed verdict. The trial court granted a directed verdict in favor of Young but denied Hennen’s motion. The jury held for Throop and awarded damages in the amount of $50,400. Throop appealed the trial court’s directed verdict in favor of Young. Stauffer appealed the jury’s verdict.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McCarthy, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
