Court Opinion

ID: 9687427
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 16:27:49.358169+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:27.164784
License: Public Domain

BIEGELMEIER, Judge
(special concurrence).
*624I concur in the result reached and in the opinion, but desire briefly to note when the Act Regulating the Operation of Vehicles on Highways, which is now Chapter 44.03 of the 1939 Code, was passed as Ch. 251, Laws of 1929 it did not include present Section 44.0362, the guest statute, which came into being as Ch. 147, Laws of 1933. So neither the definition of a "motor vehicle" in Ch. 251, Laws of 1929 nor its definition in the Licensing Act (Ch. 183, Laws of 1931) did by statutory direction apply to the 1933 guest statute. Both the 1929 Regulating Act and the 1931 Licensing Act limited the definitions of motor vehicles only when used in each act and the 1933 guest statute used the term motor vehicle without definition or further reference. This situation continued from July 1, 1933 to July 1, 1939, when the 1939 Code became effective and the guest statute appeared as SDC 44.0362 as part of Regulating Act provisions. The fortuitous location therein by the Code Revisors cannot be held to be a change in the law, City of Redfield v. Wharton, 79 S.D. 557, 115 N.W.2d 329, nor did the Revisors indicate a change as the note thereto mentions only the omission of the term gross negligence in accord with the Melby v. Anderson, 64 S.D. 249, 266 N.W. 135, opinion and adding the last phrase as to contributory negligence. Nevertheless I agree with the resulting definition of motor vehicle in the opinion. This seems to be the conclusion of the Wisconsin Supreme Court which took into consideration differing statutory enactments in Rice v. Gruetzmacher, 27 Wis.2d 46, 133 N.W.2d 401.