Ferguson v. Davis
| Decision Date | 04 February 1954 |
| Docket Number | No. 575,575 |
| Citation | 48 Del. 299,9 Terry 299,102 A.2d 707 |
| Parties | , 48 Del. 299 FERGUSON v. DAVIS (FERGUSON, Third-Party Defendant). Civ. A. |
| Court | Delaware Superior Court |
Januar D. Bove, Jr. (of Connolly, Cooch & Bove), Wilmington, for plaintiff.
Albert L. Simon and Stephen E. Hamilton, Jr., Wilmington, for defendant and third-party plaintiff.
Stewart Lynch, Wilmington, for third-party defendant.
This is an action for damages resulting from an automobile accident. The complaint charges that the defendant negligently drove her automobile into an automobile owned by the plaintiff and operated by the plaintiff's husband. The defendant filed a third-party complaint against the plaintiff's husband alleging his negligence and seeking contribution from him as a joint tort-feasor. The plaintiff's husband moves to dismiss the third-party complaint on the ground that it fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
The recent case of Lutz v. Boltz, Del.Super., 100 A.2d 647, 648, disposes of the question here presented. After discussing our Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act, 10 Del.C. § 6301 et seq., Judge Carey there stated:
Since a wife may not sue her husband at law in this State, the plaintiff in this case has no possible remedy against her husband for damages arising from his negligence. See Plotkin v. Plotkin, 2 W.W.Harr. 455, 125 A. 455. Hence, to permit a third-party proceeding for contribution against the husband, as a joint tort-feasor, would be to render him liable indirectly upon a claim for which he may not be held liable directly. Common liability, not concurring negligences, is the sine qua non for the invocation of the Uniform Contribution Act. Since there is no possible liability or right of action as between the third-party defendant and the plaintiff, his wife, it is held that the third-party plaintiff could have no right of contribution from the third-party defendant. See Yellow Cab. Co. v. Dreslin, 86 App.D.C. 327, 181 F.2d 626, 19 A.L.R.2d 1003 et seq.; Guerriero v. U-Drive-It Co. of New Jersey, 22 N.J.Super. 588, 92 A.2d 140; American Auto Ins. Co. v. Molling, Minn., 57 N.W.2d 847.
The...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
In re Rural/Metro Corp. Stockholders Litig.
...liability, not concurring negligence, is the sine qua non for the invocation of the Uniform Contribution Act.” Ferguson v. Davis, 102 A.2d 707, 708 (Del.Super.1954). Numerous decisions recognize and apply these principles.16 The requirement of joint tortfeasor status has significant implica......
-
Ianire v. University of Delaware
...both jointly or severally liable as the statute requires. Lutz v. Boltz, 9 Terry 197, 100 A.2d 647 (Super.1953); Ferguson v. Davis, 9 Terry 299, 102 A.2d 707 (Super.1954). Consequently, where an employee is injured by the combined negligence of both his employer and another, the employer wi......
-
Fields v. Synthetic Ropes, Inc.
...which she cannot do directly. Defendant cites various Delaware decisions upon the issue of 'indirect action': Ferguson v. Davis, 9 Terry 299, 102 A.2d 707 (Del.Super.1954), where a husband could not be impleaded as a third party defendant in a suit by his wife; Strahorn v. Sears, Roebuck & ......
-
Strahorn v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.
...The defendant's motion to join the father as a third-party defendant is denied. Lutz v. Boltz, 9 Terry 197, 100 A.2d 647; Ferguson v. Davis, 9 Terry 299, 102 A.2d 707. Next, defendants have moved to strike the allegations of Par. 2(a) and 2(e) from the Complaint. These allegations are somew......