Melby, Respondent v. Anderson, Appellant

Summary

The court held that the 1933 guest statute adopted the Michigan statute and should be interpreted consistently with the pre-enactment construction given to that statute. Under that interpretation, statutory "gross negligence" is substantially synonymous with willful and wanton misconduct and requires conscious realization that the conduct would probably produce the injury. Although the defendant was negligent in driving while temporarily blinded by the sun, the evidence did not establish the required degree of misconduct, so the judgment for the plaintiff was reversed and judgment directed for the defendant.