Bailey v. Lewis Farm, Inc.
Oregon Supreme Court
171 P.3d 336 (2007)
May Trucking Company (defendant) sold a used tractor-trailer to Lewis Farm after owning and operating it for six years and 500,000 miles; about a year after the sale, one of its axles broke, and the resulting flying wheels struck Jerome Bailey's (plaintiff's) car and injured him. Bailey sued May Trucking, alleging its negligent maintenance during its long period of ownership substantially contributed to the axle failure. The trial court dismissed the claim against May Trucking on the sole ground that it had sold the truck a year before the accident, and Bailey appealed.
Whether a prior owner's negligent maintenance of a vehicle is excused, as a matter of law, simply because a subsequent owner also had an opportunity, and a legal duty, to maintain the vehicle before the accident occurred.