Opinion ID: 1404854
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Latent

Text: Because the court should hold that the submerged tree stumps are not an artificial condition, it should be unnecessary to address the issue of whether the condition is latent. Nevertheless, the majority's analysis of the latency issue is also troublesome. That the submerged tree stumps are a natural occurrence in the water channel and that such a condition is characteristic of the changing contours of bodies of water suggest that the specific instrument which caused the injury is not latent. The majority believes that the record does not sufficiently support such a finding since other boaters indicated that the stumps were not apparent to them. However, as the court determined in both Swanson and Ochampaugh, dead trees and the changing contours of bodies of water are natural conditions which boaters in the area generally appreciate. Natural conditions in any given recreational area are characteristic of the area by definition. I would hold that as a matter of law the injury-causing condition was not latent. Just because a certain condition is not apparent to a particular user does not mean that it is not obvious and apparent to the general class of recreational users. Van Dinter, 121 Wash.2d at 46, 846 P.2d 522. Surely, a landowner is neither required to anticipate the various ways people might use its property, nor expected to predict the possible scenarios in which a user might fail to see a patent condition. Tennyson v. Plum Creek Timber Co., 73 Wash.App. 550, 556, 872 P.2d 524 (1994). Finally, I question the majority's analysis of the duty owed, assuming this is an artificial latent condition. In determining whether WWP has a duty to warn recreational users of the supposed underwater hazard of submerged tree stumps, the majority believes that a general warning of the condition would be sufficient, rather than cautioning recreational users with a specific warning of every submerged tree stump in the water channel. Granted, a general warning may not be burdensome to WWP, but such a remedy is meaningless, especially since dead trees and similar debris are presumed to be natural conditions in bodies of water. Swanson, 59 Wash.App. 303, 796 P.2d 1291; Ochampaugh, 91 Wash.2d 514, 588 P.2d 1351. In fact, the record indicates that many other recreational users were aware of the submerged tree stumps and excised caution. Clerk's Papers at 27-28; 49; 65; 104. It is unlikely that a general warning of the existence of submerged tree stumps in the area will prevent accidents such as the one in this case, since without specific warning of the tree stumps' exact location, the risks to boaters would remain the same.