Opinion ID: 2363278
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Issue of the Care and Custody of the Mother

Text: Baptist Temple places emphasis on the fact that Frankie was in the care and custody of his mother so that no special duty was imposed on the Temple hence there was no actionable negligence on the part of the bus driver Huntsman in permitting Frankie to alight from the bus. The Temple contends that the court erred in refusing to direct a verdict in its favor. The Temple relies on 13 C.J.S. Carriers § 694, p. 1291 (1939) to the effect that the primary duty of caring for such child is on the parents who have custody and where the child is in the care of his parents, the carrier has the right to rely on the presumption that the parent will take such care as the natural love of the parent would prompt him to exercise under the circumstance. The Temple relies on a number of decisions which quote or refer to the general principle in 13 C.J.S. Carriers § 694, p. 1291: Norfolk & W. Ry. Co. v. Estepp, 204 F.2d 880 (6th Cir. 1953); Burnett v. Wilder, 507 S.W.2d 449 (Ky.App.1974); White v. Chappell, 219 N.C. 652, 14 S.E.2d 843 (1941); and Shay v. Parkhurst, 38 Wash.2d 341, 229 P.2d 510 (1951). These cases are not dispositive of the issue here. In Burnett , after the bus driver left the bus the father of the deceased left the bus to see about a young son, and the deceased son left the bus thereafter and was killed. The failure of the defendant to give instructions to the father to care for his children was not negligent. In Norfolk , a young boy who was in the car of his foster mother was found missing from a train. Under the circumstances, it was held that defendant was entitled to a directed verdict. In Chappell , the mother and son alighted in safety and the bus was stopped before reaching town at the mother's request. In Shay a three year old child fell out of a taxi when the door came open. The case was properly submitted under the res ipsa loquitur theory. The defendant complained of an instruction given for plaintiff. The court held the instruction proper and relied on the true principles in these situations: [T]he fact that the minor child is in a custodian's charge does not absolve the carrier from liability, if the carrier's employees know, or should know, that such child will be injured by certain acts of negligence on their part. The principle is that while the carrier owes no special duties and may rely on a presumption of care by the parent, Where, however, the carrier's employees. . . know, or, in the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, should know, that such child is or will be exposed to danger or injuries by acts or negligence of the carrier's employees, the carrier is not entitled to act upon such presumption and is under [a] duty to use all reasonable and practicable care and diligence to avoid the danger and avert the injury. 13 C.J.S. Carriers § 694, p. 1291 quoted in Shay . That is the situation here. The bus driver was not entitled to rely on any presumption but was under a duty to avoid the danger and avert the injury. The trial court noted that it could not agree with the Temple's argument that the plaintiff, being in the custody of his mother was precluded from recovering. We agree. Additionally, any negligence of the mother, Linda Graeff, cannot, under Missouri law, be imputed to the child. Schmidt v. Allen, 303 S.W.2d 652, 658 (Mo.1957); Reynolds v. Kinyon, 222 S.W. 476, 479 (Mo.1920); Rogers v. Toro Manufacturing Company, 522 S.W.2d 632, 638 (Mo.App.1975).