Morris v Murray [1990] 3 All ER 801

Court of Appeal 

Facts: C and M drank heavily before deciding to fly M’s light aircraft. M, who had consumed the equivalent of 15 whiskies, crashed the plane, killing himself and injuring C. 

Issue: When can the defense of volenti non fit injuria apply? 

Held : The claim is defeated by the voluntary assumption of risk of flying with a drunken pilot by C.

• Fox LJ : Volenti Non Fit Injuria - In Dann v Hamilton, mere knowledge of a driver’s drunkenness was insufficient to imply consent to the risk of injury. However, in this case, C must be taken to have fully accepted the risk of serious injury by agreeing to fly with M, given M’s obvious and extreme intoxication. C’s acceptance of the risk was evident, as the danger was glaringly obvious, akin to engaging in an inherently dangerous activity.