Sandra Schneck v. Mutual Service Casualty

These three actions, arising out of an automobile accident, were consolidated for trial and appeal. The three minor plaintiffs Sandra Schneck, Lynnette Towle and Patricia Brandt seek damages for personal injuries sustained while passengers in an automobile driven by Grace Brzezinski, a minor, when it went off the highway on April 17, 1960, a few miles outside of Wausau, Wisconsin. The defendant Mutual Service Casualty Insurance Company is the insurer of Frank Brandt, the owner of the auto, whose daughter Patricia Brandt is one of the plaintiffs. On the day of the accident Frank Brandt permitted his daughter to use the auto. She in turn allowed Grace Brzezinski, who was killed in the accident, to drive. The complaints allege Grace Brzezinski was driving the car with the owners consent. The defendants answers deny this and set up affirmative defenses of no permission and lack of cooperation by Brandt in the defense of the claims.