Baker v. Stutzman

542 P.2d 478, 273 Or. 530, 1975 Ore. LEXIS 351
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 20, 1975
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 542 P.2d 478 (Baker v. Stutzman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baker v. Stutzman, 542 P.2d 478, 273 Or. 530, 1975 Ore. LEXIS 351 (Or. 1975).

Opinion

BRYSON, J.

Plaintiff brought this action to recover damages for injuries sustained while riding in a vehicle driven by the defendant. Plaintiff’s primary contention is that she was not a guest passenger at the time of the accident. She does not allege that defendant was grossly negligent. The jury returned a special verdict which found that plaintiff was a guest at the time of the accident. The trial court entered judgment for defendant and plaintiff appeals.

Plaintiff, then 17 years of age, lived in Mill City, Oregon, and was frequently employed as a baby sitter by Mr. and Mrs. Stutzman, also of Mill City. When [532]*532plaintiff was hired as a bahy sitter, the Stutzmans usually provided plaintiff with transportation to and from her home.

On the afternoon of February 13, 1972, plaintiff, the Stutzmans, their small child, and one Tim Sadler drove to Breitenhush, a few miles east of Mill City, for an outing in the snow. Defendant was driving a four-wheel drive pickup. Shortly after starting their return from Breitenhush and while still in that area, plaintiff and Mrs. Stutzman were standing on the bed of the pickup, looking over the cab. The pickup lurched forward and plaintiff fell and sustained injuries.

Plaintiff testified she was not a guest because she was being employed to care for the Stutzmans’ child at the time of the accident. On direct examination plaintiff’s mother testified:

“A Mrs. Stutzman said she wanted Cherie [plaintiff] to help with Sondra. They were going to Breitenhush and then go out later and Cherie would baby-sit at their house.”

Tim Sadler testified that he had telephoned plaintiff earlier in the day and asked her to join him and the Stutzmans on an excursion to the snow fields at Breitenbush, and at the request of Mrs. Stutzman also asked plaintiff if she could baby-sit for the Stutzmans that evening. There is also evidence that plaintiff did babysit for the Stutzmans while they went out for dinner and that plaintiff was Tim Sadler’s “social date” for the trip to Breitenhush. The Stutzmans testified they did not hire or pay plaintiff to baby-sit their child during the afternoon trip. The testimony shows that plaintiff had been deposed earlier and stated that she was to start baby-sitting “when we got back” from Breitenhush.

Plaintiff first assigns as error the trial court’s [533]*533failure to give plaintiff’s requested instruction that plaintiff was not a guest as a matter of law. Plaintiff argues that she was “an employee” or “an employee being taken to a job site” at the time of the accident and therefore was not a guest within the meaning of ORS 30.115.

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Related

Fullerton v. White
542 P.2d 1017 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1975)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
542 P.2d 478, 273 Or. 530, 1975 Ore. LEXIS 351, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baker-v-stutzman-or-1975.