stating that “[i]f . . . defendant’s conduct . . . was not a factor in causing plaintiff’s damage, that ends the matter.”
How later courts described this case
- stating that “[i]f . . . defendant’s conduct . . . was not a factor in causing plaintiff’s damage, that ends the matter.”
- to establish proximate cause, it is not required that a cause be the sole cause, the last act, or the one nearest to the injury, as long as it is a substantial factor causing the injury
- viewing Tennessee's suicide rule as "parsimonious" but firmly established
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
Petition to Eehear
The plaintiffs, Thomas Paul Lancaster and Mrs. Mary Ellen Easley, have filed a courteous petition to rehear. This petition again argues the position taken by these parties in the original hearing and does not present any new matter not considered by the Court in our original opinion. For this reason the petition is denied.