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Keywords

plaintiffdefendantnegligencestatutetrial
tortplaintiffdefendantnegligenceappeal

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Mellk v. Sarahson, 49 N.J. 226, 229 A.2d 625

Facts

The plaintiff and defendant, both residents of Maplewood, New Jersey, took a motor trip to Wisconsin in September 1963. On September 7, while driving in Ohio, the defendant's car struck a parked vehicle, resulting in injuries to the plaintiff, who was asleep at the time of the accident. The trial judge dismissed the case, concluding that the plaintiff was a guest under Ohio law and that there was no evidence of wilful or wanton misconduct by the defendant.

Plaintiff and defendant, both residents of Maplewood, New Jersey, decided in the late summer of 1963 to take a one-week motor trip to visit a mutual friend in Madison, Wisconsin.

Issue

The primary question is whether Ohio or New Jersey law sets the standard of care owed by the defendant-driver to his guest.

The primary question before us on this appeal is whether Ohio or New Jersey law sets the standard of care owed by defendant-driver to his guest.

Rule

The court applied the principle of Lex loci delicti, which is the law of the place where the wrong occurred, but recognized that a mechanical application of this rule may lead to unjust results when a foreign state has no real interest in having its law applied.

The traditional rule for determining choice of law in tort cases has been Lex loci delicti, the law of the place where the wrong occurred.

Analysis

The court determined that Ohio has a real interest in applying its traffic safety laws but found that it had no interest in applying its guest statute to bar recovery for ordinary negligence in this case. The court emphasized that New Jersey's strong policy of allowing a guest to recover for ordinary negligence should prevail, especially since both parties were New Jersey residents and the host-guest relationship originated in New Jersey.

In the present case the State of Ohio has a real interest in having its rules of the road apply to the conduct of the parties in the operation of a motor vehicle on the highways of that state.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the trial court's dismissal and remanded the case for further proceedings, allowing the plaintiff to pursue his claim for ordinary negligence against the defendant.

We hold that while the substantive law of Ohio governs the conduct of the parties insofar as this relates to the rules of the road, the New Jersey rule allowing a guest to sue his host-driver for ordinary negligence applies to the present case.

Who won?

The plaintiff prevailed in the case because the court found that New Jersey's policy of allowing recovery for ordinary negligence outweighed Ohio's guest statute, which was deemed inapplicable in this context.

The strong New Jersey policy of allowing an injured guest to sue his host for negligence under such circumstances is not diminished merely because the accident occurred in another state.

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