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Leatherwood v. Wadley2/11/2003
Plaintiff, Charles Leatherwood and wife, Shelby Leatherwood, filed suit for personal injuries and loss of consortium respectively against defendants, Joseph Scott Wadley, Garnertown Speedway, and/or Joseph Scott Wadley d/b/a Garnertown Speedway, and Wayne Moore. The complaint seeks compensatory and punitive damages for alleged serious and permanently disabling injuries suffered by the plaintiff, Charles Leatherwood, when he was struck by a wheel from the racing vehicle of defendant Moore during a race at Garnertown Speedway, a permanent dirt race track owned and operated by the defendant, Wadley. The complaint is premised primarily on the theories of negligence and gross negligence and alleges that defendants are strictly liable for injuries that resulted from the operation of or participation in the asserted ultra-hazardous activity of stockcar racing. The complaint alleges that Moore is strictly liable for the injuries suffered by plaintiff pursuant to T.C.A. ยง 29-28-102 as the manufacturer of the racing vehicle which he was driving.
On August 28, 1998, Charles Leatherwood visited Garnertown Speedway for the purpose of watching stock car races. Leatherwood traveled to the Speedway as the guest of Joe Richardson ("Richardson"), and the two men were accompanied by Richardson's son Bart, a race participant that night, and one other gentleman. Leatherwood payed a $15.00 entry fee at the gate leading to the Speedway pit area, $8.00 of which plaintiff believed "was made for the purpose of procuring insurance to protect him in the event of any incident and/or accident on the premises." Plaintiff Leatherwood initially maintained that the August 28 race marked the first time that he had ever attended an automobile or motor vehicle race. In plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint, Leatherwood clarified that August 28 was the first time that he had ever attended an automobile or motor vehicle race at this particular Garnertown Speedway location. However, in his deposition testimony, Leatherwood acknowledged that the August 28 trip was his second visit to Garnertown Speedway in 1998, and further noted that he had visited several racetracks in his lifetime, had been a fan of racing since childhood, and had even participated in stock car racing in West Memphis in 1959 and 1960.
In their Second Amended Complaint, plaintiffs contend that Leatherwood sustained serious and permanently disabling injuries while attending the August 28 races at Garnertown Speedway, when he was struck in the head and torso by a wheel that "suddenly and without warning" broke from a car raced by defendant Moore during the final heat of the night, and "catapulted" into the pit area where plaintiff was standing. Leatherwood conceded that at the time of his injury he was standing in the pit area with his back to the racetrack, watching Richardson and his son load their racing vehicle into a trailer.
Garnertown Speedway is an oval racetrack that was built in 1994 by defendant Wadley's father. The track consists of two primary spectator areas, the grandstands (general admission) and the pit area. As stated, spectators are required to pay a higher admission price for entry into the pit area. At least a portion of the pit area is protected from the racetrack by a fence and several concrete barriers. Leatherwood testified in his deposition that he did not remember any warning or danger signs posted around the racetrack on August 28, but expressed uncertainty as to whether any signs were actually affixed, stating: "I have no idea if there is or not. They may be out there now, or they may have been there then. I can't say whether it was or not because I did not see them." Wadley testified that warning signs were posted
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