Court Opinion

ID: 9543450
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:45:44.844359+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:10:23.626790
License: Public Domain

Utter, J.
(dissenting) — I agree with the dissent written by Justice Dolliver. I write separately only to state what I find to be the issues of material fact making summary judgment inappropriate in this case.
The majority first finds that the Schafers' allowing the signs and ribbons at the road's entrance to become obscured was mere "inadvertence." Majority, at 549. However, the focus is better placed on the fact that the Schafers or their agents actively attached the cable across the road after the markings were no longer visible. In fact, workers had used the road the day of the accident, and had rehung the cable across the road one-half hour before the accident. Clerk's Papers, at 25-26. In light of the difficulty in discerning the cable or any warnings, this seems to constitute reckless disregard of the consequences of their actions.
The majority states, "The guardian presented no evidence that the Schafers knew (or had reason to know) that a trespassing motorcyclist would use the road." Majority, at 549. This places a nearly insurmountable barrier at the summary judgment stage. In considering summary judgment motions we must make all reasonable inferences from *552the evidence in favor of the nonmoving party. E.g., Klinke v. Famous Recipe Fried Chicken, Inc., 94 Wn.2d 255, 256, 616 P.2d 644 (1980). Here, the Schafers obviously intended to stop trespassing vehicles by having the cable hung across their road 2 feet above the ground, and have admitted as much in a memorandum in support of their motion for summary judgment. Clerk's Papers, at 25, 26. The effect of the cable was to stop such vehicles before it could be seen. Such a setup is very dangerous for any vehicle, whether a car, a bicycle, or a motorcycle.
Plaintiffs have presented sufficient evidence for an inference of wanton misconduct in the design and continued use of a cable hung across a road that stops trespassing vehicles in a way likely to cause injury or death. I would affirm and remand.