Sherman v. David

The question before us is whether defendant was guilty of “gross negligence or wilful and wanton misconduct” in operating his automobile so as to warrant a recovery by plaintiff for his injuries. 1 Comp. Laws 1929, § 4648 (Stat. Ann. § 9.1446); Naudzius v. Lahr, 253 Mich. 216 (74 A. L. R. 1189, 30 N. C. C. A. 179).

Late in the evening of August 25, 1938, plaintiff, defendant, and three others, left a restaurant in Lapeer to go to a summer home about nine miles away. Plaintiff and another rode in the rumble seat, and defendant and two others sat in the front compartment. Before leaving the…