Supreme Court of Alabama
Ex Parte Thomas Wade Essary. (In Re Latrice Burrell, Irene Banks, and Loretta Pratcher v. Thomas Wade Essary).
November 2, 2007992 So. 2d 5
Summary
The court held that the plaintiffs failed to present substantial evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact on wantonness. Viewing the evidence most favorably to the plaintiffs, Essary's rolling stop and attempt to cross between vehicles showed, at most, negligent error in judgment, not conscious disregard of a known danger likely to cause injury. The court therefore reversed the intermediate appellate court's ruling and rendered judgment for Essary on the wantonness claim. Chief Justice Cobb, dissenting, would have held that the evidence supported a reasonable inference of wantonness and would have denied summary judgment.