## Facts

- Douglas W. Brantley’s automobile struck and killed a horse owned by Ivy L. Jackson, Jr., causing property damage.
- Jackson Jr. kept horses in a fenced pasture adjacent to a paved public road (Mitchell-Young Road).
- Four horses escaped the pasture and went onto a neighbor’s property; the neighbor requested their removal.
- After dark, Ivy L. Jackson, Sr., with a helper, attempted to retrieve the horses; two were caught and haltered, and two remained loose.
- The helper led the two haltered horses toward the public road; the two loose horses followed closely behind, with Jackson Sr. slowly following in a truck.
- Despite knowing the two horses were unrestrained and directly in front of the truck, neither Jackson Sr. nor the helper haltered them before proceeding onto and along the road’s shoulder.
- When Brantley’s car approached around a curve, the headlights startled the loose horses, which bolted into the roadway; Brantley collided with one in the road.
- Brantley sued for damages; the Jacksons counterclaimed. A jury found for Brantley and denied the counterclaim. The trial court denied post-trial motions, and the Jacksons appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support a finding that the defendants “knowingly or willfully” put or placed livestock upon a public highway under Ala. Code § 3-5-3.
2. Whether contributory negligence is a defense to liability under Ala. Code § 3-5-3.

## Decision

- The judgment for Brantley was affirmed.
- The evidence permitted the jury to find the defendants knowingly placed the loose horses upon the highway within the meaning of Ala. Code § 3-5-3.
- Contributory negligence was not a defense to a claim requiring proof of knowing or willful conduct under § 3-5-3.

## Legal Principles

- Under Ala. Code § 3-5-3, a livestock owner is liable for motor-vehicle collision damages only if the owner knowingly or willfully put or placed the animal upon the public highway where the injury occurred.
- “Knowingly” placing livestock on a highway may be shown by deliberate conduct leading or moving animals toward and onto a roadway while aware unrestrained animals are following and are substantially certain to enter the roadway.
- For a statutory claim requiring knowing or willful conduct (functionally akin to an intentional-tort standard), contributory negligence by the plaintiff does not bar recovery.

## Conclusion

The appellate court upheld the jury’s verdict because the defendants’ deliberate decision to proceed along the public roadway while knowingly allowing unrestrained horses to follow supported a finding of knowing placement under Ala. Code § 3-5-3, and the plaintiff’s contributory negligence, if any, did not defeat a claim premised on knowing or willful conduct.


Jackson v. Brantley, 378 So. 2d 1109 (Ala. Civ. App. 1979)