Court Opinion

ID: 9517491
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 00:18:47.476408+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:54:55.881282
License: Public Domain

DUNN, Justice
(dissenting).
I am convinced that this case should have been decided under the comparative negligence doctrine. SDCL 20-9-2.
Contrary to the majority opinion, I believe the trial court erred when it found appellee's negligence in this case was only slight. Appellee entered this busy intersection on the blind side of an automobile which was stopped at the intersection waiting for the boy to safely cross. Appellee was traveling at a speed of twenty-nine miles per hour on a dark and rainy night. While this may have been within the legal speed limit, I do not view it to be a safe and reasonable speed of travel under the circumstances then existing. I am convinced that the appellee was guilty of negligence more than slight when she barrelled through this intersection on that fateful night. Any reasonable prudent driver would have at least hesitated at this crossing to determine why the autos stopped at the intersection had not immediately proceeded on the green light.
I am also convinced that while the eight-year-old boy may have been negligent in placing himself in this position; his negligence, considering his age and experience, was slight in comparison with that of the defendant. By all the witnesses’ testimony, the boy entered the intersection on a green light or, at worst, as the light was turning from green to yellow. He found himself trapped in a wide intersection with a half to two-thirds of the intersection to cross when the light turned red. He then did what any reasonable eight-year-old would do, he attempted to run for safety. Perhaps an adult would have had the experience and the presence of mind to stop in the comparative safety provided by the cars that were stopped and waiting for him to cross. However, his choice of extricating himself, considering his age and experience, was not contributory negligence which should bar all recovery in this case.
Accordingly, I would reverse the decision and remand for a finding of damages under the comparative negligence statute.