Court Opinion

ID: 9769002
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 14:01:55.626996+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:07:44.576183
License: Public Domain

BILLINGS, Chief Justice,
dissenting.
The principal opinion seeks to expand what the Court held in Gustafson v. Benda, 661 S.W.2d 11 (Mo. banc 1983), by quoting and adopting “comments” and the writings of Professor Wade. As our Brother Welliver well knows it was only after “insofar as possible” was added to the opinion, thereby limiting the scope of comparative fault and leaving it to a case by case basis, that this writer joined the opinion.
The principal opinion uses contributory negligence to reduce plaintiffs’ recovery. Under Gustafson this is not authorized and is nothing more or less than “bootstrapping” to adopt by opinion the comment and utterings of others.
I dissent and vote to overrule Gustafson.