Court Opinion

ID: 9563938
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:50:47.278447+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:18:09.162957
License: Public Domain

Hill, C. J.
(dissenting) — The majority have determined that the. doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applies, and with that I agree. I agree, too, that the permissible inference of negligence must be weighed against the evidence of the city, and has weight so long as reasonable men can still draw such an inference from the evidence. Nopson v. Wockner (1952), 40 Wn. (2d) 645, 647, 245 P. (2d) 1022.
There are two possible bases for the majority opinion:
(1) The majority may have concluded, as a matter of law, that the inference of negligence to be drawn from the fact that the break occurred, outweighed the defendant’s evidence of due care, and that the trial court could have reached no other result. If that be the basis of the decision, I dissent, because it seems to me that reasonable minds could differ on the issue, of the city’s negligence.
From the break in the pipe, one can, as the trial court suggested in the finding quoted in the majority opinion, infer *491negligence in the manufacture or installation (and maintenance) of the pipe, or in the operation of the water system. The city-seems to have established due care and good engineering practice with regard to installation and maintenance, and likewise to have established due care in the operation of its system. So far as manufacture is concerned, there is a serious question in my mind as to whether the city can be responsible for any latent defect that could not have been determined by any reasonable inspéction. The majority say: “The pipe was strong enough to stand the pressure exerted upon it at the time of the break and was within the standard specifications.” Under such conditions, I cannot, as a matter of law, conclude that the permissible inference of negligence outweighs the city’s evidence of due care, and that the plaintiffs must recover.
(2) The majority may have concluded (and I believe this to be the basis of the decision) that if the trial court had correctly understood and applied the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, it is evident “when the memorandum opinion is read in the light of the findings,” that it “would have based its decision on the premise that the inference to be drawn from the fact that the break occurred, outweighed the defendant’s evidence of due care.”
If that be the basis of the decision, I dissent, because I do not believe we should affirm a judgment by the trial court because of our belief as to what a trial judge would do, gathered from reading his memorandum opinion in the light of the findings. I would remand for findings and conclusions based on the application of the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur.
September 4, 1957. Petition for rehearing denied.