1 Wash. App. 824 - Meabon v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “upon the state a dual standard of care in the repair and maintenance of its public highways with regard to those using the highways, i.e., one applicable to drivers and another applicable to passengers. The state’s compliance with the requirement of an adequate warning would be a defense from liability for injury to a driver, but not for injury to a passenger. Such a position is founded upon the reasonable foreseeability by the state of a driver’s disregard for, or failure to see, a warning sign, resulting in a passenger’s injury. The logical conclusion of this theory would result in the imposition of absolute liability upon the state for failure to eliminate dangerous highway conditions, resulting in injuries to passengers, without consideration of the adequacy of any warning of the dangerous condition. . . . Such is not the rule in Washington. The standard of care required of the state in the maintenance of its public highways remains the same towards both the driver and his passengers, i.e., the traveling public. . . . Until plaintiff proves a breach of the state’s duty of ordinary care, the state has committed no legal wrong. In this context, a passenger’s well-being is in the hands of his driver.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 15 Wash. App. 520 - Breivo v. City of Aberdeen

2. “and exercising ordinary care for their own safety.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Wick v. Clark County