Walt Disney World Co. v. Wood

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Walt Disney World Co. v. Wood, 489 So. 2d 61 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1986) is a court decision by Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal illustrating the principle of joint and several liability when combined with comparative negligence. It also features a unique twist in that the plaintiff and one of the defendants were (at the time of the incident giving rise to the suit) engaged, and later married.

In 1971, Aloysia Wood was injured on the Grand Prix bumper-car ride at Walt Disney World when her then-fiance, Daniel Wood, rammed his car into the rear of hers.

The jury assessed her damages at $75,000.

The jury then returned a verdict finding Aloysia Wood 14% at fault, Daniel Wood 85% at fault, and Disney 1% at fault. [1] The court (under the doctrine of joint and several liability) then ordered Disney to pay 86% of the damages - its 1% percentage plus Daniel Woods' 85% percentage - because Daniel (who was by then Aloysia's husband) was unable to pay his portion.

This case is sometimes cited in calls for tort reform.^[1]

References

^ Shmit, Joan T; Oleszczuk, Timothy K; Anderson, Dan R. "An Analysis of Litigation Claiming Joint and Several Liability". The Journal of Risk and Insurance. 58 (3): 401–402. JSTOR 253399.

United States tort law

Intentional Torts

Assault & Battery	Garratt v. Dailey Katko v. Briney Vosburg v. Putney Picard v. Barry Pontiac-Buick, Inc. Sheridan v. United States
Abuse of process	Hartman v. Moore
intentional infliction of emotional distress	Snyder v. Phelps Hustler Magazine v. Falwell
Trespass to land & Trespass to chattels	Rowland v. Christian CompuServe Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc. Dougherty v. Stepp Intel Corp. v. Hamidi United Zinc & Chemical Co. v. Britt Sioux City & Pacific Railroad Co. v. Stout
Conversion	Haslem v. Lockwood Popov v. Hayashi
Privacy, Publicity rights	Taus v. Loftus Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co.
Tortious interference	Redbox Automated Retail LLC v. Universal City Studios LLLP
Defamation	See United States defamation law

Negligence

Duty of care	Brown v. Kendall Trimarco v. Klein Jablonski by Pahls v. United States Kerans v. Porter Paint Co. Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co. Mexicali Rose v. Superior Court
Medical malpractice	Landeros v. Flood Union Pacific Railway Co. v. Botsford Mohr v. Williams Schloendorff v. Society of New York Hospital Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California Scott v. Bradford
Wrongful death, Loss of consortium	Cahoon v. Cummings Hitaffer v. Argonne Co. Werling v. Sandy
Common employment	Albro v. Agawam Canal Co. Farwell v. Boston & Worcester Railroad Corp. Vance v. Ball State University
Public Authority, Fireman's rule, Negligence per se	Boub v. Township of Wayne Briscoe v. LaHue United States v. GlaxoSmithKline Seong Sil Kim v. New York City Transit Authority United States v. Johnson (1987) Martin v. Herzog Tedla v. Ellman Yount v. City of Sacramento Pearson v. Callahan Saucier v. Katz
Causation	Summers v. Tice Ybarra v. Spangard Ultramares Corp. v. Touche Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.
Negligent infliction of emotional distress	Krouse v. Graham Dillon v. Legg Archibald v. Braverman Thing v. La Chusa Miller v. National Broadcasting Co. Molien v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals

Nuisance

Public	Spur Industries, Inc. v. Del E. Webb Development Co.
Private	Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co.

Strict liability

Ultrahazardous activity	Alwin v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co. v. American Cyanamid Co.
Product liability	Thomas v. Winchester Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories Friend v. Childs Dining Hall Co. Loop v. Litchfield Losee v. Clute Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Thompson Geier v. American Honda Motor Co. Chysky v. Drake Bros. Co. Devlin v. Smith

Damages

Joint and several liability	Walt Disney World Co. v. Wood
Comparative negligence	Li v. Yellow Cab Co. Knight v. Jewett Hoffman v. Jones American Motorcycle Ass'n v. Superior Court
Punitive damages	BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants Pearson v. Chung Honda Motor Co. v. Oberg State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell