Wilcox v. Transamerican Freight Lines, Inc.
| Decision Date | 18 January 1967 |
| Docket Number | No. 17078.,17078. |
| Citation | 371 F.2d 403 |
| Parties | Arthur WILCOX, Leslie Grier, George Porter, Abe Smith, Russell Waters and Otis Drummond, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. TRANSAMERICAN FREIGHT LINES, INC. and Harry Culyer, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
George W. Weber, Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio, for appellants, Simpson & Jacobs, and Theodore Repper, Jr., Kondritzer, Gold & Frank, Wolfson & Goldman, Cincinnati, Ohio, on the brief.
Leo J. Breslin, Cincinnati, Ohio, for appellees, Lindhorst & Dreidame, Cincinnati, Ohio, on the brief.
Before WEICK, Chief Judge, and PHILLIPS and CELEBREZZE, Circuit Judges.
This appeal is from an order of the District Court granting Transamerican's motion for summary judgment and dismissing the complaint. There was no genuine issue over the facts. The sole question was whether Transamerican, an interstate common carrier by truck, was liable for negligence of the owner-driver of a tractor which it leased from him and which collided with an automobile, injuring the plaintiffs.
The owner-driver of the tractor was in the employ of Transamerican, but its defense was that at the time of the accident he was off duty and was not engaged in its business.
Plaintiffs contended that absolute liability for any negligence of the owner-driver existed because of Regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission which provided in substance that the tractor should be under the complete control of Transamerican during the term of the lease.
In our opinion, the I.C.C. Regulations do not impose a liability on a carrier using leased equipment greater than that when operating its own equipment. Under Ohio law, liability of an owner of a motor vehicle for the acts of his employee, is governed by the principle of respondeat superior. White Oak Coal Co. v. Rivoux, 88 Ohio St. 18, 102 N.E. 302, 46 L.R.A.,N.S., 1091 (1913). If one of the owner's vehicles was being operated by an employee with permission but on a mission of employee's own, the owner cannot be held liable. The same rule applies to leased equipment. Thornberry v. Oyler Bros., 164 Ohio St. 395, 131 N.E.2d 383 (1955); Kaplan Trucking Co. v. Lavine, 253 F.2d 254 (6 Cir. 1958).
The owner-driver of the tractor on the day in question had completed a trip for Transamerican with his tractor attached to a trailer, and he had checked out on its official "sign out sheet" at its Dayton, Ohio terminal. His log showed he was "off duty". He waited at...
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...permit. [Citations omitted.] Wolverine argues that the decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Wilcox v. Transamerican Freight Lines, Inc., 371 F.2d 403 (C.A. 6, 1967), should be followed by this Court because it is the decision that is binding upon federal district courts in this......
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