## Facts

- Joseph Grant and Eddie Earl Herod undertook a nighttime hunt on Grant’s property to remove wild animals from Grant’s bean field.
- They rode in Herod’s pickup truck in the field around 10:00 p.m., each carrying rifles and wearing headlights.
- Grant sat cross-legged on a toolbox in the open bed of the truck immediately behind the cab; the truck traveled about 15–20 mph along field rows.
- After Grant fired at a deer and his rifle jammed, he took Herod’s rifle and continued the chase while riding in the truck bed.
- Grant alleged that when the deer veered toward the vehicle, Herod suddenly accelerated and slightly turned in an attempt to run over the deer, causing Grant to fall from the toolbox and suffer serious injuries.
- Herod denied any rapid acceleration or sharp turn; the trial court submitted the case to the jury, which returned a \$15,000 verdict for Grant.
- Herod appealed, arguing that Grant’s claim was barred by assumption of risk.

## Issues

1. Whether Grant’s voluntary participation in riding unsecured on a toolbox in the open bed of a moving pickup during a night hunt constituted assumption of risk that barred recovery as a matter of law.

## Decision

- The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the judgment for Grant and rendered judgment for Herod.
- The court held that Grant assumed the risk of injury inherent in the activity as a matter of law, making assumption of risk a complete defense to the negligence claim.
- The court concluded that the claimed acceleration or turn during the chase did not take the case outside the risks Grant knowingly accepted.

## Legal Principles

- Assumption of risk requires: (1) knowledge of a condition inconsistent with the plaintiff’s safety; (2) appreciation of the danger; and (3) a deliberate and voluntary choice to expose oneself to that danger, indicating assent to the condition’s continuation.
- When an adult plaintiff knowingly and voluntarily engages in an obviously hazardous activity, assumption of risk may be decided as a matter of law and operate as a complete bar to recovery.
- Foreseeable maneuvers and movements integral to a jointly undertaken hazardous activity fall within the risks accepted by a participant who chooses an unsafe position and continues the activity.

## Conclusion

Because Grant knowingly chose an unsecured, precarious position in the open bed of a moving truck during a night deer chase and voluntarily continued the activity with awareness of its obvious dangers, the court held he assumed the attendant risk and could not recover for his injuries.


Herod v. Grant, 262 So. 2d 781 (Miss. 1972)