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RCW 4.08.040

When either spouse or either domestic partner may join, defend.

Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case 69 Wash. 2d 37 - Mangham v. Gold Seal Chinchillas, Inc. (1966)

Most recently applied in Grayson v. Platis (April 1999)

2008 c 6 s 408; 1972 ex.s. c 108 s 2; Code 1881 s 7; 1877 p 4 s 7; 1875 p 4 s 3; 1854 p 219 s 492; RRS s 182.

How often courts cite this section

1966197019801990199910
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

Either spouse or either domestic partner may join in all causes of action arising from injuries to the person or character of either or both of them, or from injuries to the property of either or both of them, or arising out of any contract in favor of either or both of them.

If the spouses or the domestic partners are sued together, either or both spouses or either or both domestic partners may defend, and if one spouse or one domestic partner neglects to defend, the other spouse or other domestic partner may defend for the nonacting spouse or nonacting domestic partner also. Each spouse or each domestic partner may defend in all cases in which he or she is interested, whether that spouse or that domestic partner is sued with the other spouse or other domestic partner or not.

Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.