''Hoffman v. Jones'', (Fla. 1973), was a

case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods), a package of related merchandise * Cartridge case or casing, a firearm cartridge component * Bookcase, a piece of furniture used to store books * Briefcase or attaché case, a narrow box to c ...

decided by the

Supreme Court of Florida The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

that was the first adoption of the comparative negligence rule in

negligence Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as a ...

law through judicial decision as opposed to adoption through

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

. In the wrongful death case of Hoffman v. Jones, attorne
Sammy Cacciatore Jr.
was instrumental in causing the Florida Supreme Court to adopt for the first time the comparative negligence rule in negligence law. William Harrison Jones Jr. was killed by a Pav-A-Way Corporation truck driven by Philip Francis Hoffman Jr. It was the first case in the nation in which a state supreme court abandoned the almost-150-year-old doctrine of contributory negligence, which precluded an injured victim from recovery if the victim had contributed to the incident to any degree. The Florida Supreme Court adopted the concept of "pure" comparative negligence, which allows a victim to be compensated for the percentage of harm caused by the at-fault person. The decision of the court in Hoffman v. Jones has been cited in law school textbooks, and now the concept of comparative negligence is the prevailing doctrine.

Impact

''Hoffman'' was cited by the California Supreme Court as precedent for their decision to adopt a comparative negligence scheme in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

.''Li v. Yellow Cab Company of California'' 13 Cal. 3d 804, 812 (1975)

References

External links

Text of opinion from Leagle.com, with no pay-wallText of opinion from LoisLaw.com
United States negligence case law 1973 in United States case law Florida state case law 1973 in Florida {{US-case-law-stub