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Dellwo v. Pearson | 107 N.W.2d 859 (1961)

Typically, an actor is negligent if his conduct falls below the expected standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would’ve exercised under like circumstances. Children, however, aren’t expected to act like reasonable adults. Instead, children are generally held to a modified standard of care that accounts for their youth, intelligence, and experience. But should the adult standard of care apply if the child took up a very grown-up activity, like operating a powerboat? Find out in Dellwo versus Pearson.

Jeanette Dellwo and her husband took their boat fishing on a Minnesota lake. The Dellwos used a technique known as trolling. With their boat, they pulled fishing lures through the water at a low speed. Forty to fifty feet of fishing line were towed behind the boat. They hoped for fish but caught something else.

Robert Pearson, aged twelve, was operating a boat with an outboard motor. Pearson crossed behind the Dellwos’ boat, and the fishing line snagged in the motor. Pearson’s boat quickly dragged out the line. When the line ran out, the rod was jerked downward into the side of the Dellwos’ boat. On impact, the reel shattered, and a piece shot through Jeannette Dellwo’s glasses, injuring her eye.

Dellwo sued Pearson for negligence. The trial court instructed the jury that Pearson, as a child, was held to a lesser standard of care than an adult defendant. The instruction explained that a child was expected to use the same degree of care ordinarily exercised by, quote, “children of like age, mental capacity, and experience under the same or similar circumstances,” unquote. In a separate jury instruction, the trial court addressed the standard for proximate causation, adopting foreseeability as the proper test. The instruction stated that a tortfeasor was only liable for the foreseeable consequences of his actions.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of Pearson. Dellwo appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

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