Walt Disney World Co. v. Wood, 489 So. 2d 61 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1986) is a court decision by the Florida District Court of Appeal illustrating the principle of joint and several liability when combined with comparative negligence.
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. The court (under the doctrine of joint and several liability) then ordered Disney to pay 86% of the damages - its percentage plus the husband's percentage - because the husband was unable to pay his portion.
This case is sometimes cited in calls for tort reform.
Famous quotes containing the words world and/or wood:
“When I tried to talk to my father about the kind of work I might do after college, he said, You know, Charlotte, Ive been giving a lot of thought to that, and it seems to me that the world really needs good, competent secretaries. Your English degree will help you. He said this with perfect seriousness. I was an A student at Bryn Mawr ...”
—Charlotte Palmer (b. c. 1925)
“Ashtrays to cry into,
the suffering brother of the wood walls,
the forty-eight keys of the typewriter
each an eyeball that is never shut,
the books, each a contestant in a beauty contest,
the black chair, a dog coffin made of Naugahyde....”
—Anne Sexton (19281974)