Court Opinion

ID: 9565426
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 19:20:42.471058+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:19:37.793902
License: Public Domain

Neely, Justice,

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent to the majority’s holding that the jury in this case were entitled to consider and resolve the question of defendant’s gross negligence. The majority opinion properly states West Virginia’s conflicts rule which requires us to look to Virginia for the substantive law controlling the right of recovery in this case. The majority opinion also states the applicable Vir*76ginia law correctly. That is, at the time of this accident a guest passenger-plaintiff was required to prove the host’s gross negligence in order to recover damages from the host. Gross negligence in Virginia, as the majority opinion points out, is “that degree of negligence which shows such indifference to others as constitutes an utter disregard of prudence amounting to a complete neglect of the safety of the guest. It must be such a degree of negligence as would shock fairminded men although something less than willful recklessness.” Ferguson v. Ferguson, 212 Va. 86, 181 S.E.2d 648 (1971).
Having come this far, the members of the majority do not accept the logical consequences of their analysis. The evidence in this case is clearly insufficient to present a jury question on the issue of defendant’s gross negligence, if the cited Virginia standard is to be honestly observed. Accordingly, the defendant was entitled to proper motion to a directed verdict in his behalf, and I would have so held.
While the majority may have been motivated by sympathy for the seriously injured and disabled plaintiff, I cannot commend their failure to apply controlling Virginia law and I cannot concur in their judgment.