## Facts

- Vicki Owen, a South Dakota domiciliary, was injured as a passenger in a vehicle driven by her husband, Ronald Owen.
- The accident occurred in Indiana while the couple was temporarily there for Ronald’s schooling; the vehicle skidded off the road and struck a utility pole.
- Vicki suffered serious leg injuries and required prolonged hospitalization and continued medical care.
- The couple maintained substantial ties to South Dakota (home ownership, taxes, vehicle registration, driver’s licenses, voting) and intended to return, which they did.
- Vicki sued Ronald in South Dakota state court for negligence arising from the Indiana accident.
- Ronald moved to dismiss; the trial court applied Indiana law under lex loci delicti and held Indiana’s guest statute barred recovery absent allegations of willful or wanton misconduct.
- The trial court dismissed for failure to state a claim, and Vicki appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether South Dakota should continue to apply lex loci delicti in multistate tort cases.
2. If lex loci delicti applies, whether South Dakota may decline to apply foreign law that conflicts with South Dakota public policy.
3. Whether Indiana’s guest statute is unenforceable in a South Dakota action between South Dakota domiciliaries because it conflicts with South Dakota public policy favoring guest recovery for ordinary negligence.

## Decision

- The South Dakota Supreme Court reversed and remanded.
- The court retained lex loci delicti as the general conflicts rule for torts but recognized a public-policy exception.
- The court refused to enforce Indiana’s guest statute because it conflicted with South Dakota’s policy choice reflected in the repeal of its own guest statute.
- South Dakota negligence law governed, so Vicki’s complaint stated a claim and should proceed.

## Legal Principles

- South Dakota generally applies lex loci delicti to determine the governing law in multistate tort actions.
- A South Dakota court may decline to apply otherwise applicable foreign law when it violates a strong and clearly expressed South Dakota public policy.
- After South Dakota repealed its guest statute, enforcing another state’s guest statute to restrict a South Dakota guest passenger’s recovery is contrary to South Dakota public policy where the parties’ meaningful contacts are with South Dakota and the out-of-state accident location is fortuitous.

## Conclusion

The court held that although lex loci delicti remains South Dakota’s default tort choice-of-law rule, South Dakota courts will not apply a foreign guest statute that would reimpose limitations the South Dakota Legislature rejected by repealing South Dakota’s own guest statute; the dismissal was reversed and the negligence action was remanded under South Dakota law.


Owen v. Owen, 444 N.W.2d 710 (S.D. 1989)