Herbert v. Corporation of Catholic Archbishop

396 P.2d 552, 65 Wash. 2d 184, 1964 Wash. LEXIS 462
Washington Supreme Court·Decided November 5, 1964·No. No. 37118·Published

Opinions

Per Curiam.

The defendant obtained a summary judgment in the trial court on the basis of charitable immunity from tort liability, a doctrine since discarded by this court in Friend v. Cove Methodist Church, Inc. (1964) ante p. 174, 396 P. (2d) 546. Grace Herbert (plaintiff-appellant) was injured on the grounds of the St. Philomena Church, a parish of the Corporation of Catholic Archbishop of Seattle (defendant-respondent), while she was attending a Rosary service for a deceased friend. The night was dark, and the ground covered with snow. The plaintiff, unfamiliar with the area, attempted to walk directly from the parking lot to the lighted church doorway. Such a direct route did not follow the sidewalk. It took the plaintiff across a narrow strip of lawn (see diagram below). The plaintiff tripped over a 15-inch white wire fence, placed to prevent persons from walking on the lawn. Serious injuries were sustained.

In granting the summary judgment, the trial judge ex[185] pressed misgivings not unlike those of this court in Friend v. Cove Methodist Church, Inc., supra. His order recited:

“Although convinced that the rule and the policy of the law of non-immunity announced by the majority opinion in

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Herbert v. Corporation of Catholic Archbishop, 396 P.2d 552, 65 Wash. 2d 184, 1964 Wash. LEXIS 462 (Wash. 1964).

396 P.2d 552 (Herbert v. Corporation of Catholic Archbishop) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Friend v. Cove Methodist Church, Inc.
396 P.2d 546 (Washington Supreme Court, 1964)