Bretzfelder v. Demaree

Citations

• 102 Ohio St. (N.S.) 105

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Liability of husband for acts of wife — Common-law rule abrogated — Section 8002, General Code — Proof prerequisite to recovery — ■Master and servant, or principal and agent — Wife operating husband’s automobile — Returning with son from church.</p> <p>1. Section 8002, General Code, abrogates the common-law rule, which held the husband liable for negligent acts of his wife.</p> <p>2. In an action against the husband for his wife’s negligence, the marital relationship, of itself, is not a sufficient ground for recovery against him. It must be proven that the negligent acts of the wife were committed in the furtherance of her husband’s business or in the execution of his orders. A relation of principal and agent or of master and servant between them must be shown as a basis for recovery against him.</p> <p>3. When, by permission of her husband, the wife is allowed to use the latter’s automobile for her own purposes, proof that the car was his, that she was his wife, and that she took her child with her to religious services, does not, ipsoi facto, make the husband liable as her principal.</p>