Hilen v. Hays

Hilen (plaintiff) chose to ride with Hays (defendant) despite knowing he was too intoxicated to drive safely, and Hays crashed, injuring her; the trial court directed a verdict that Hays was negligent but let the jury decide whether Hilen was also contributorily negligent for riding with a drunk driver, instructing the jury under Kentucky's existing rule that any contributory negligence completely barred her recovery and refusing her request for a comparative-negligence instruction. The jury found Hilen contributorily negligent, barring recovery entirely; the appellate court affirmed, and Hilen appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court.