This is an action for personal injuries resulting from an accident which occurred in South Dakota. Defendants appeal from an order denying their motion for summary judgment and certifying the question raised as important and doubtful.
In the summer of 1963, plaintiff and defendant Gary Rechtzigel, then minor residents of Minnesota, took a pleasure trip to the Black Hills in Gary’s car with the understanding they were to share expenses. While Gary was driving, plaintiff sustained serious and permanent injuries when *442 the car left the road. He was hospitalized in Minnesota for a period of approximately 5 months and incurred medical expenses exceeding $5,000.
Defendants have interposed as a defense the South Dakota Guest Statute which provides in part as follows:
“No person transported by the owner or operator of a motor vehicle as his guest without compensation for such transportation shall have cause of action for damages against such owner or operator for injury, death, or loss, in case of accident * * *.” S. Dak. Code of 1939, § 44.0362. 1
For reasons stated in Balts v. Balts,
Minnesota has not adopted a guest statute but has adhered to the common-law doctrine that a passenger in an automobile is entitled to recover for the ordinary negligence of his host. The policy considerations behind the enactment of such laws are fully discussed in Phelps v. Benson,
It is unnecessary to repeat what was said in the Balts case where we *443 refused to confer immunity on a child for a tort committed against his parent in a state which recognized the defense of family immunity. There, as here, both parties were domiciled in Minnesota; the excursion to a neighboring state was of only temporary duration; the automobile was apparently registered, garaged, and insured in Minnesota; and the injured parties could be expected to return here for medical care and treatment. In the instant case the plaintiff and defendants were neighbors and friends. Although in planning their trip neither the question of insurance coverage nor that of ultimate liability for negligence in the operation of the motor vehicle was probably uppermost in their minds, it is fair to infer that the owner intended to protect his passenger against negligent injury, as well as to secure indemnity for liability, in whatever state an accident might occur. We therefore conclude that Minnesota has an overriding concern in the relationship of the parties and in the adjudication of their rights. 2
Our decision in no way interferes with the legitimate interests of the State of South Dakota, which is entitled to the strict and uniform enforcement of its motor vehicle regulations and the promotion of traffic safety on its highways. It has, in addition, an incidental interest in seeing that hospital and medical expenses incurred in that state are ultimately paid by one or the other of the parties to the accident. We believe that the rights of South Dakota are fully vindicated and indeed better served by *444 allowing recovery rather than by denying it. The order denying summary judgment is therefore affirmed.
Affirmed.
Notes
Because of our disposition of the conflicts question, we do not find it necessary to determine whether defendant’s attempted rescission of the agreement to share expenses was effective to confer on plaintiff the status of a “guest without compensation.”
Babcock v. Jackson, 12 N. Y. (2d) 473, 240 N. Y. S. (2d) 743, 191 N. E. (2d) 279, 95 A. L. R. (2d) 1; Wilcox v. Wilcox, 26 Wis. (2d) 617,