Kirby v. Larson

400 Mich. 585 (1977)

256 N.W.2d 400

KIRBY

v.

LARSON

Docket No. 56211, (Calendar No. 5).

Supreme Court of Michigan.

Argued January 7, 1976.

Decided July 18, 1977.

Newman & Mackay for plaintiff.

Willingham, Cote, Hanslovsky, Griffith & Foresman, P.C., for defendant.

WILLIAMS, J.

This case involves an automobile accident in which the negligence, if any, of plaintiff was arguably slight compared with that of defendant. Despite this small dereliction, however, the all-or-nothing doctrine of contributory negligence was applied below, and plaintiff was denied any recovery.

This unfortunate result raises once…