Strait v. Crary

Twenty-one-year-old Terry Crary (defendant) took several teenagers, including 16-year-old David Strait (plaintiff), for a truck ride and bought them beer, though he himself didn't drink; while Crary was driving, an intoxicated Strait tried to climb from the cab through the window into the truck bed, fell, and was run over by the truck. Crary immediately stopped, drove Strait to the hospital, and Strait sued for negligence. At trial, Strait asked the court to instruct the jury to apply the special child standard of care in assessing his own comparative negligence, but the trial court implicitly applied an adult-activity exception instead; the jury apportioned 61% of the negligence to Strait and 39% to Crary, and Strait appealed.