MacKnight v. Department of Highways

West Virginia Court of Claims

MacKnight v. Department of Highways

12 Ct. Cl. 341

CourtWest Virginia Court of Claims

DecidedJune 13, 1979

DocketNo. CC-78-144b

StatusPublished

This text of 12 Ct. Cl. 341 (MacKnight v. Department of Highways) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

MacKnight v. Department of Highways, 12 Ct. Cl. 341 (W. Va. Super. Ct. 1979).

Pincite

Opinion

WALLACE, JUDGE:

This claim, originally filed against the respondent by Frances J. MacKnight, was amended by the Court substituting James C. MacKnight, husband of Frances J. MacKnight, as claimant.

On or about May 1, 1978, Frances J. MacKnight was driving her husband’s 1977 Ford Pinto automobile southerly on W.Va. Route 62 in Mason County, West Virginia-, taking her daughter to band practice at the high school. The weather was clear and the highway was dry. She had stopped at the traffic light located at the Pomeroy Mason County Bridge, and had started again, proceeding at approximately 15-20 miles per hour. Just before she reached the high school, the automobile struck a pothole in the highway, damaging a tire and rim.

Mrs. MacKnight testified that she travelled this road five to six times a week and that she knew the hole was there.

This Court has held many times that the State is not a guarantor of the safety of its travellers on its roads and that the user of the highways travels at his own risk. Adkins v. Sims, 130 W.Va. 645, 64 S.E. 2d 81 (1947); Parsons v. State Road Comm’n., 8 Ct. Cl. 35 (1969). Further, the record does not establish that the respondent had notice of a defect in the highway. For the State to be found liable, it must have had either actual or constructive notice of the defect in the highway. Keith v. Dept. of Highways, 12 Ct. Cl. 199; Bradshaw v. Dept. of Highways, 12 Ct. Cl. 187.

Accordingly, the Court disallows this claim.

Claim disallowed.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

WALLACE, JUDGE:

This claim, originally filed against the respondent by Frances J. MacKnight, was amended by the Court substituting James C. MacKnight, husband of Frances J. MacKnight, as claimant.

On or about May 1, 1978, Frances J. MacKnight was driving her husband’s 1977 Ford Pinto automobile southerly on W.Va. Route 62 in Mason County, West Virginia-, taking her daughter to band practice at the high school. The weather was clear and the highway was dry. She had stopped at the traffic light located at the Pomeroy Mason County Bridge, and had started again, proceeding at approximately 15-20 miles per hour. Just before she reached the high school, the automobile struck a pothole in the highway, damaging a tire and rim.

Mrs. MacKnight testified that she travelled this road five to six times a week and that she knew the hole was there.

This Court has held many times that the State is not a guarantor of the safety of its travellers on its roads and that the user of the highways travels at his own risk. Adkins v. Sims, 130 W.Va. 645, 64 S.E. 2d 81 (1947); Parsons v. State Road Comm’n., 8 Ct. Cl. 35 (1969). Further, the record does not establish that the respondent had notice of a defect in the highway. For the State to be found liable, it must have had either actual or constructive notice of the defect in the highway. Keith v. Dept. of Highways, 12 Ct. Cl. 199; Bradshaw v. Dept. of Highways, 12 Ct. Cl. 187.

Accordingly, the Court disallows this claim.

Claim disallowed.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

12 Ct. Cl. 341, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/macknight-v-department-of-highways-wvctcl-1979.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack