Wright v. Palmison

We conclude that it was error to charge that the burden of establishing plaintiff’s contributory negligence was upon the defendants. It was claimed by defendants that the plaintiff was a gratuitous guest in the automobile driven by one defendant and owned by the other. The accident happened in Massachusetts, where statute law places the burden of establishing contributory negligence upon the defendant. There was properly applied the law of that State in so far as it related to the defendant’s negligence in the case of a gratuitous guest; but such an action when tried in the courts of our…