Lubitz
v. Wells
Superior
Court of
19
Conn.Sup. 322, 113 A.2d 147.
Prosser,
p. 131
Facts: Wells left a golf club
sitting in his yard. His son picked it
up and used it to hit a stone. He hit
Lubitz with the club. Lubitz sued the
elder Wells for leaving the club in his yard.
The defendant demurred and said that the plaintiff failed to state a cause
of action against Wells.
Issue: Is it negligence to leave a
golf club lying in a yard?
Rule: It is only negligence to
leave an object lying around if it is “obviously and intrinsically dangerous”.
Analysis: The court says that it is
common sense that the golf club is not dangerous in and of itself.
Conclusion: The court sustains the demurrer.
Notes
and Questions
1. A shotgun is
obviously and intrinsically dangerous whereas the other objects are not. By the rule of this case, one could not be
found negligent for leaving out any of the other items.
2. The son’s
purported duty to inform Lubitz that he is going to swing the club is
independent of his father’s rejected duty to not leave golf clubs on his
lawn. If the son is found (1) to have
such a duty, (2) to have breached it, (3) to have caused harm, and (4) to have
caused actual damages, then the son could be found negligent independent of the
father. If the plaintiff had tripped
over the golf club, she would have alleged the breach of a different duty,
namely, the duty to keep one’s lawn free from debris that someone could trip
over. If such an obligation is
recognized by law, the plaintiff could have a cause of action.
3. It would seem
it was not negligent to sell the slingshot, because apparently there is no
legal duty not to sell it. If there was,
presumably the shop wouldn’t have been allowed to sell the slingshot in the
first place.
4. Again, it
would seem as though this is a question of whether there exists a legal duty to
yell “Fore”.
5. I have a
feeling that contributory negligence would come into play here. The mother has a duty to watch the toddler to
make sure he doesn’t crawl under cars.
It seems like an unreasonable burden to make the defendant search around
his car in detail every time he’s going to drive.