Edwards, etc., et al. v. Crowder, et al., [Ms. SC-2023-0151, May 24, 2024] __ So. 3d __ (Ala. 2024). The Court (Mendheim, J.; Parker, C.J., and Shaw, Wise, Sellers, Stewart, and Mitchell, JJ., concur; Bryan and Cook, JJ., recuse) affirms the Lowndes Circuit Court’s summary judgment dismissing a wrongful death action arising from an MVA in which the decedent, Corey Hatcher, was killed as a result of striking horses roaming on U.S. Highway 80.
Section 3-5-3, Ala. Code 1975, provides in pertinent part “that the owner of any stock or animal shall not be liable for any damages to any motor vehicle or any occupant thereof suffered, caused by or resulting from a collision with such stock or other animal, unless it be proven that such owner knowingly or wilfully put or placed such stock upon such public highway, road or street where such damages were occasioned.” The Court explains that “in adopting § 3-5-3(a), ‘[t]he Alabama Legislature has, in fact, given persons who suffer damages on the public roads and highways as a result of livestock thereon a new cause of action that did not exist at common law.’” Ms. *18, quoting Scott v. Dunn, 419 So. 2d 1340, 1341 (Ala. 1982). The Court explains the Plaintiffs argument that § 3-5-3(a) did not apply was self-defeating because at common law “there is no cause of action available to someone injured or killed as a result of a car accident involving livestock.” Ms. *22. Section 3-5-3(a) is the exclusive remedy in these circumstances. Additionally, because it was not raised below, the Court declines to address Plaintiffs’ alternative argument that Scott v. Dunn should be overruled. Ms. *25, n. 5.
The Court affirms dismissal of the § 3-5-3(a) claim because “the plaintiffs have presented meager evidence indicating that [the owners] were, at most, negligent in the manner in which they corralled their horses. ... [A]uthority explaining what is required under § 3-5-3(a) ... makes clear that a plaintiff must present evidence of something more than negligent conduct.” Ms. *31.