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44 Wash. 2d 43

265 P.2d 265

Squires v. McLaughlin

Washington Supreme Court

Decided December 31, 1953

Washington Supreme Court · decided 1953-12-31

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1953-12-31

How this case has been cited

Cited by 7 later decisions — most recently May 2016

7 state decisions

401953196019701980199020002010decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Schwellenbach, J.

¶1(dissenting) — I agree with the majority that appellant was guilty of negligence and that he was not acting under a “sudden emergency.” However, I am of the opinion that respondent was guilty of contributory negligence.

¶2Although it. cannot be said that the bottle of vodka was the proximate cause of the accident, there is no question but that it caused the accident. These people had been on a drinking party which started at a night club at one o’clock a. m. and apparently continued, without cessation, at respondent’s apartment, a tavern, and the home of friends. For some reason not shown in the record, late in the afternoon they decided to part company. Appellant got into his car, which was in the driveway, started the motor, depressed the clutch, and put the gear shift in reverse. Respondent decided to leave with a woman companion in *52another car. Just as she was ready to leave, she remembered the bottle of vodka. Deciding to obtain what rightfully belonged to her, she got out of her companion’s car, walked over to appellant’s car, knocked on the window, and opened the door, and reached for and obtained the bottle of vodka. Upon seeing this, appellant instinctively lunged for the bottle himself, and the car started to back up. Both parties were intent upon one thing — the possession of the bottle of vodka. The proximate cause of the accident and respondent’s resultant injuries was the action of respondent in opening the door and reaching for the bottle, coupled with the lunge which appellant made. The negligence of both parties contributed to the accident.

¶3January 28, 1954. Petition for rehearing denied.

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