Mina v. Boise Cascade Corp.

Washington Supreme Court

Mina v. Boise Cascade Corp.

710 P.2d 184, 104 Wash. 2d 696, 1985 Wash. LEXIS 1300

CourtWashington Supreme Court

DecidedNovember 21, 1985

Docket50661-2

StatusPublished

Cited by31 cases

This text of 710 P.2d 184 (Mina v. Boise Cascade Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Mina v. Boise Cascade Corp., 710 P.2d 184, 104 Wash. 2d 696, 1985 Wash. LEXIS 1300 (Wash. 1985).

Pincite

Opinions

Durham, J.

In a negligence action arising out of a mul-tivehicle collision, a jury found that defendant Hofstrand Logging Company was negligent and that plaintiff Ezzat Mina was 85 percent comparatively negligent. Mina appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed the jury verdict and ordered a new trial. Hofstrand challenges the appellate court's determinations that: (1) the evidence introduced at trial did not support a jury instruction based on the statutory prohibition against parking, stopping, or leaving standing a vehicle on the roadway; and (2) retrial will be limited to a determination of the parties' respective liabilities. We affirm the Court of Appeals, although in part on different grounds.

In the early afternoon of February 4, 1980, Ezzat Mina and his wife were driving north on Interstate 82 to their home in Ellensburg following a doctor's appointment in Yakima. The road surface was dry and the sky was clear and sunny until the Minas were 13 miles south of Ellens-burg. Here they came upon a fogbank which intensified as they proceeded down into a valley. According to Mr. Mina's testimony, he reset his cruise control from approximately [698]*69855 m.p.h. to approximately 35 m.p.h. in response to the changed weather conditions.

That same afternoon, Gary Graham, driving a Hofstrand log truck with its empty trailer in a "piggyback" position, was returning on Interstate 82 to Ellensburg from a delivery made in Yakima. Graham testified that as he entered the fogbank 13 miles south of Ellensburg he reduced the truck speed to 45 m.p.h. After driving through the fog for approximately 1 mile, Graham suddenly saw that he was rapidly approaching two taillights, six to eight car lengths in front of him. His truck began to slide to the left side of the road. When he countersteered, the front end of the truck struck a snowbank on the left shoulder of the road, causing the truck to spin completely around. The truck then slid backward into a ditch in the median strip. The taillights that Graham saw belonged to the Mina vehicle. When the Hofstrand truck spun around, its rear end struck the rear end of the Mina vehicle.

At trial, Mr. Mina testified that he was concentrating on the road in front of him and did not see the Hofstrand truck approach from the rear. He recalled that after feeling the impact from the collision he went into a "state of shock." When he saw that the force of the collision was causing his car to head for a guardrail at the edge of the right shoulder of the road, he closed his eyes and gripped the steering wheel. He did not reopen his eyes until the car came to rest. At some point after the impact but before the car had come to rest, the car engine stalled. When Mr. Mina opened his eyes, he tried, but was unable, to restart the engine. He was disoriented and frightened. He opened his door, got out of the car and told his wife to do the same. Mr. Mina had no further recollection of the incident.

Meanwhile, John N. Samuel, driving a flatbed truck for the Palmer G. Lewis Company, was also traveling north on Interstate 82 that afternoon. When he approached the fogbank, he too reduced his speed. Although he did not see the collision between the Mina vehicle and the Hofstrand truck, he arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. When [699]*699Samuel saw the Hofstrand truck in the median strip, he reduced his speed further. He then saw that the right-hand lane of the roadway was obstructed by what he eventually learned was the Minas' vehicle. The Mina car was almost perpendicular to the roadway, but was facing slightly south. Samuel drove into the left-hand lane, reduced his truck speed to 20 m.p.h. and began to pass the car.

Alfred Johnson, driving a Boise Cascade logging truck, was also proceeding north on Interstate 82 that same afternoon. When he entered into the fogbank, he reduced his speed, saw the Hofstrand truck in the median strip, and slowed his truck further. Johnson testified that he saw a car blocking three-fourths of the right-hand lane, and a truck, apparently adjacent to the car, blocking the left-hand lane. Realizing that he did not have time to stop, Johnson drove to the right shoulder of the road in an attempt to pass the Mina car. Instead, the truck struck the rear portion of the car and continued forward until it struck the guardrail on the right shoulder of the road.

Mr. Mina was out of the car and speaking to his wife when the Boise Cascade truck collided with his car. The force of the collision caused the car to hit Mr. Mina, knocking him unconscious. The car then came to rest against the side of the Palmer G. Lewis truck, which was still in the left lane.

The following illustration shows the position of the Mina car (1) where it was hit by the Hofstrand truck (2) at the point of impact with the guardrail, (3) where it was hit by the Boise Cascade truck. "X" denotes the point of impact by the trucks. The Mina vehicle ultimately came to rest approximately 166 feet north of number 3.

At trial, the Minas and Hofstrand each called upon expert witnesses to reconstruct the sequence of events at issue. John A. Talbott testified on the Minas' behalf. He maintained that the Hofstrand truck was traveling at a speed of 28 m.p.h. immediately prior to impact. The impact exerted the equivalent of 450 pounds of force hitting Mr. Mina's body horizontally. Talbott maintained that nine-

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