Torts -- 1961 Tennessee Survey

The tort cases reported during the past year were of unusual interest. A number of them dealt with points of first impression in this state. Others represent developments of the law designed to bring it into harmony with changing conditions, as in the application of the res ipsa loquitur doctrine to the unexplained fall of an air-liner, or in the clarification of the duties of an automobile driver to a mere licensee in the vehicle. While the basic pattern for justice in the field of torts has been worked out by our courts with much care and wisdom, occasional modifications are needed.

Developments are more feasible in tort law than in areas such as real property or con-tracts, for in the tort field there is less risk of upsetting arrangements entered into on the faith of an existing rule. As to torts, it is helpful to bear in mind that "the courts have power to change their judge-made rules" and often there is no necessity to wait for a statute"with its usual attention to minutia."'