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JOHNSON v. JOHNSON6/18/1997
ty Comm'n, 990 F.2d 1298, 1300 (D.C. Cir. 1993). This action was prompted by the growing number of injuries and deaths resulting from the use of ATVs. Id. In addition, the federal government was concerned about children under the age of sixteen using adult-sized ATVs. This concern prompted the government to consider banning the sale of adult-sized ATVs for use by children under the age of sixteen. Apparently, the Iowa legislature chose to address the problem by making ATV owners liable for the negligence of the operators without the consent limitation in section 321.493.
Marvin poses a hypothetical about a thief injuring a person with a stolen ATV. He doubts that the legislature intended the owner to be responsible under such facts and for that reason suggests we should conclude that the consent limitation in section 321.493 should apply to ATV owners. We express no opinion on the result we would reach under such a scenario. Suffice it to say those are not the facts in this case.
Our interpretation of section 321G.18 leads us to conclude that the district court erroneously instructed the jury that Marvin could escape liability by conditioning or restricting the consent he gave to his son to operate the ATV. The answers the jury gave to jury forms A and B make clear that the erroneous instructions were prejudicial. Because the error was prejudicial, we reverse and remand for a new trial.
REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR A NEW TRIAL.
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