Nikkila v. Niemi

This is a guest case and the issue is whether the passenger is contributorily negligent as a matter of law. The trial court held he was not and the jury returned a verdict against the defendant host and the other driver. The defendant host appeals.

The accident occurred 10 days before the plaintiff’s sixteenth birthday. The defendant host was 16 and a long-time friend and classmate of plaintiff. Before the accident the parties were riding around Astoria, Oregon, in the defendant host’s family ear. At a drive-in they met some friends in another car driven by the defendant Kelley. There was some…