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Pipher v. Parsell | 930 A.2d 890 (2007)

Imagine a friend or acquittance offers you a ride in his or her car. Does the driver owe you a duty to prevent an accident caused by the driver’s carelessness? What if there’s an accident resulting from another passenger’s misconduct in the car? May you recover damages from the driver for injuries that you suffer? The Delaware Supreme Court addressed these issues in Pipher versus Parsell.

Johnathan Parsell gave a ride in his pickup truck to Kristyn Pipher and Johnene Beisel. All three teenagers sat on the front seat. Parsell drove, Pipher was in the middle, and Beisel sat by the passenger door. As Parsell was driving at 55 miles per hour, Beisel unexpectedly grabbed the steering wheel, which caused the truck to veer off onto the road’s shoulder. Parsell later testified that Beisel’s action was shocking and surprising, but at the time he laughed when it occurred. Shortly thereafter, Beisel again pulled the steering wheel, this time causing the truck to veer off the road and hit a tree. Pipher was injured.

Pipher sued Parsell for negligence in state court. At trial, Parsell testified that he could’ve tried to prevent Beisel from grabbing the steering wheel a second time. He admitted that he could’ve told Beisel not to do it again, required her to sit in the back seat, or even made her exit the truck after the first incident. The trial court ruled that, as a matter of law, Parsell had no duty to do anything after Beisel yanked the steering wheel the first time, because it would be reasonable for the driver to assume that it wouldn’t happen again. The trial court further ruled that Parsell wasn’t negligent in not taking any action to prevent a second incident, and also that Parsell’s omission couldn’t be considered a proximate cause of Pipher’s injuries.

Pipher appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court.

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