Smith v. Kauffman

A seven year old child brought this action against the administrator of her stepfather’s estate to recover for injuries suffered in an .auto*182mobile accident, allegedly as a result of the stepfather’s negligence. The trial court held that the plaintiff-child could not maintain the action because her stepfather, who stood in loco parentis to the child, was immune from liability.1 The court held alternatively that if the plaintiff could maintain the action, her stepfather owed only slight care because she was a gratuitous guest-passenger. Va. Code Ann. § 8-646.1 (1957). The court dismissed the…