Krebs v. Corrigan
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
321 A.2d 558 (1974)
Bronson's (defendant) car was parked inside Krebs's (plaintiff) art studio while Bronson worked on it, and Krebs glanced over from another part of the studio and saw Bronson "flying through the air," landing on and destroying one of Krebs's sculptures along with three others. Krebs sued Bronson and his principal, Donald Corrigan (defendant); after Krebs's case-in-chief, the defendants moved for a directed verdict, which the trial court granted, and Krebs appealed.
Whether, under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, a plaintiff has presented a prima facie case of negligence if the cause of the accident is known, the accident-producing instrumentality is under the exclusive control of the defendant, and the instrumentality is unlikely to do harm without negligence on the part of the person in control.