AMI 802 Automobiles—Permitting Minor Under 14 to Drive

Arkansas Supreme Court Committee On Jury Instructions-Civil

Ark. Model Jury Instr., Civil AMI 802

Arkansas Model Jury Instructions-Civil

December 2023 Update

Arkansas Supreme Court Committee On Jury Instructions-Civil

Chapter 8. Vicarious Liability for Acts of Minors

AMI 802 Automobiles—Permitting Minor Under 14 to Drive

(Plaintiff) claims damages from (defendant) for permitting a minor under 14 to drive and has the burden of proving each of five essential propositions:

First, that [he] [she] [it] has sustained damages;

Second, that (minor) was under the age of 14 at the time of the occurrence;

Third, that (minor) was negligent in the operation of the motor vehicle;

Fourth, that the negligence of (minor) in the operation of the motor vehicle was a proximate cause of the [injuries] [and] [damages] sustained by (plaintiff); and

Fifth, that (defendant) permitted (minor) to operate a motor vehicle on a street or highway.

[If you find from the evidence in this case that each of these propositions has been proved, then your verdict should be for (plaintiff); but if, on the other hand, you find from the evidence that any of these propositions has not been proved, then your verdict should be for (defendant).]

NOTE ON USE

The final bracketed sentence should not be used when the case is submitted on interrogatories.

COMMENT

This instruction is based on Ark. Code Ann. §§ 27-16-602 and 27-16-604 (unlawful for persons under the age of 14 to drive).

In Carter v. Montgomery, the court stated that permitting an underage person to drive is negligence per se, but held that it was not error to refuse to so instruct the jury where there was no evidence of causation. 226 Ark. 989, 991, 995, 296 S.W.2d 442, 443, 445 (1956).

For definition of a street or highway see Ark. Code Ann. § 27-49-212(d).

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