Although I confess to no personal experience in this regard, cows and cars apparently do not mix. But when they do mix (or at least collide), a lawsuit can result. A PA court was recently asked to weigh in on the standard of care owed in such cases in the case of Lefebvre v. Bielak. In the case, plaintiff Lefebvre was a passenger in a car when that car hit a cow that had wandered into the roadway and was owned by farmer Bielak. The question before the court was whether the claim against the farmer sounded in negligence or in strict liability. The court concluded that negligence principles applied. The good news for farmers everywhere is therefore that they are not absolutely responsible for the actions of their cows – good news indeed as cows are known to have minds of their own!

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