Opinion ID: 2407207
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Did Marshall Voluntarily Assume the Risk?

Text: Plaintiff Marshall does not contend that voluntary assumption of risk is no defense to an action which asserts the defendant's strict liability. He alludes to the truth that it has been abolished as a defense in a number of states in actions grounded upon negligence. [1] Marshall's argument is that he did not, as a matter of law voluntarily expose himself to the risk of the attack by the hog. The jury found that plaintiff Marshall had knowledge of the vicious propensities of the hog and that it was likely to cause injury to persons, and also found that plaintiff, with knowledge of the nature of defendant's boar hog, voluntarily exposed himself to the risk of attack by the animal. We hold that there was no proof that plaintiff had a free and voluntary choice, because he did not have a free choice of alternatives. He had, instead, only a choice of evils, both of which were wrongfully imposed upon him by the defendant. He could remain a prisoner inside his own house or he could take the risk of reaching his car before defendant's hog attacked him. Plaintiff could have remained inside his house, but in doing so, he would have surrendered his legal right to proceed over his own property to his car so he could return to his home in Dallas. The latter alternative was forced upon him against his will and was a choice he was not legally required to accept. W. Prosser, Law of Torts § 68, at 450-453 (4th ed. 1971). We approve and follow the rule expressed in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 496E (1965): (1) A plaintiff does not assume a risk of harm unless he voluntarily accepts the risk. (2) The plaintiff's acceptance of a risk is not voluntary if the defendant's tortious conduct has left him no reasonable alternative course of conduct in order to (a) avert harm to himself or another, or (b) exercise or protect a right or privilege of which the defendant has no right to deprive him. The dilemma which defendant forced upon plaintiff was that of facing the danger or surrendering his rights with respect to his own real property, and that was not, as a matter of law the voluntary choice to which the law entitled him. Kanelos v. Kettler, 132 U.S.App.D.C. 133, 406 F.2d 951 (1968); American Smelting & Refining Co. v. Riverside Dairy & Stock Farm, 236 F. 510 (8th Cir. 1916); Judson v. Giant Powder Co., 107 Cal. 549, 40 P. 1020 (1895); Associated Metals & Minerals Corp. v. Dixon Chemical & Research Co., 82 N.J.Super. 281, 197 A.2d 569 (1962); Schiro v. Oriental Realty Co., 272 Wis. 537, 76 N.W.2d 355, 73 A.L.R.2d 1368 (1956); 2 F. Harper & F. James, The Law of Torts § 21.1, at 1166 (1956); 65A C.J.S. Negligence § 174(2) (1966). We held in Harvey v. Seale, 362 S.W.2d 310, 313 (Tex.1962), that a choice afforded a nine-year-old child to cease playing on a porch that her parents held by lease or to risk stepping in a hole was not a voluntary one. We wrote in that case: By virtue of her father's lease, she was entitled to be on the front porch of her home without regard to respondent's consent. Respondent was not privileged, therefore, to adopt a take it or leave it attitude, and his duty to petitioner was not fully discharged when she learned of the danger. The negligent failure to repair the hole placed her in a position where she was compelled to choose between foregoing her legal right to play on the porch and encountering the risk involved in playing there. If her choice was unreasonable under the circumstances, she was guilty of contributory negligence, but respondent will not be heard to say that she voluntarily exposed herself to the danger, and that he owed her no duty with respect thereto, when she decided to play on the porch. Nor do we regard Rabb v. Colleman, 469 S.W.2d 384 (Tex.1971), in conflict with our holding. In Rabb, we ruled that voluntary assumption of risk applies to one who owns the property upon which he is injured, but Coleman, the owner, faced a known danger which he fully appreciated when he was free to move only a short distance and escape the danger. The burden upon his freedom of movement was very slight. Defendant Ranne argues also that the plaintiff Marshall had yet another alternative, that of shooting the hog. The proof showed that Marshall was an expert marksman and had a gun in his house with which he could have killed the hog. Plaintiff Marshall testified that he was reluctant to destroy his neighbor's animal because he did not know how Ranne would react. We do not regard the slaughter of the animal as a reasonable alternative, because plaintiff would have subjected himself arguably to charges under the provision of two criminal statutes. [2] We accordingly hold that contributory negligence is not a defense in a strict liability action. Voluntary assumption of risk, if established, would be a valid defense. In this case as a matter of law, the proof shows that plaintiff Marshall did not voluntarily encounter the vicious hog. We, therefore, reverse the judgments of the courts below and render judgment that plaintiff recover the sum of $4,146.00 the amount of damages found by the jury.