White v. Solaegui

815 P.2d 784, 62 Wash. App. 632, 1991 Wash. App. LEXIS 328
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided July 1, 1991·No. No. 27170-9-I·Published

Opinion

Coleman, J.

Gary White appeals the trial court's grant of summary judgment to James Solaegui, asserting that a triable issue of fact existed about the proximate cause of the car accident in which the two men were involved. We affirm.

The accident involved in this case occurred in Everett, Washington, near the intersection of Casino Road and Evergreen Way. At that intersection, Casino Road has four distinct traffic lanes separated by white dividing lines: an eastbound through lane; a 2-way turn lane; a westbound through lane; and a westbound, right-turn-only lane leading onto northbound Evergreen Way. The designated right-turn-only lane is 20 feet 6 inches wide. A 7-Eleven store sits 124 feet north and east of the intersection, with its driveway leading off of Casino Road. The white line dividing the westbound through lane and the westbound right-tum-only lane stops approximately 60 feet west of the 7-Eleven driveway, although the width of the westbound portion of the road is identical to its width near the intersection. In addition, a right-turn arrow is painted on the pavement near the intersection, and at [634]*634approximately 30 feet west of the 7-Eleven driveway the faded word "Only" appears on the road.

On August 12, 1988, at approximately 4:45 p.m., Gary White was driving east in his pickup truck on Casino Road. After crossing over Evergreen Way, White entered the 2-way traffic lane in order to make a left-hand turn into the parking lot of the 7-Eleven store. At that time, westbound traffic on Casino Road was stopped at a red light at the intersection, with the line of cars extending east beyond the 7-Eleven parking lot.

A westbound driver who was stopped at the red light backed up slightly so that White could make the left turn across the westbound lane of cars and into the parking lot. At the same time, James Solaegui was traveling westbound on Casino Road to the right of the line of cars stopped by the light in the westbound through lane. Solaegui was intending to make a right-hand turn onto northbound Evergreen Way at the intersection. As White proceeded to turn left toward the 7-Eleven lot, the vehicles driven by White and Solaegui collided. White later sued Solaegui for personal injuries, alleging that Solae-gui was negligent and had proximately caused White's damages.

After filing an answer and counterclaim, Solaegui moved for summary judgment, asserting that no material issues of fact existed and, as a matter of law, he had been driving lawfully in a legal lane for westbound traffic making right turns into the 7-Eleven parking lot or onto northbound Evergreen Way. In his supporting memorandum, Solaegui argued that the sole cause of the accident was White's negligence in failing to yield the right of way as he was required to do pursuant to RCW 46.61.185 while making a left turn.1

[635]*635In addition, Solaegui asserted that he was driving in a lawful manner at all times and that White failed to meet his burden of proving that Solaegui had been negligent. According to Solaegui, two legal westbound lanes existed on Casino Road at the point of the accident or, in the alternative, the westbound portion of Casino Road was sufficiently wide to accommodate two lanes of traffic as authorized by RCW 46.61.115(1)(b).

The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass upon the right of another vehicle only under the following conditions:
(b) Upon a roadway with unobstructed pavement of sufficient width for two or more lines of vehicles moving lawfully in the direction being traveled by the overtaking vehicle.

J.I. Mason, an accident reconstruction specialist, presented a declaration to the court on behalf of Solaegui in which Mason averred that "[t]here is ample room for two lanes of cars to travel safely westbound on Casino Road." In addition, Mason observed that

it is quite common for two lanes of traffic to form on this roadway well prior to the "Right Turn Only" sign [and in] fact, cars traveling westbound on Casino Road utilize this right-hand lane of travel to both enter and exit the 7-11 store, as well as to enter the right-hand turn lane to turn right onto Evergreen Way.

Photographs attached to Mason's declaration depict cars using the far right section of the road as a lane for entering and exiting the 7-Eleven parking lot and in preparation for making a right turn onto northbound Evergreen Way.

White opposed Solaegui's motion for summary judgment, asserting that Solaegui was "proceeding unlawfully in a place where no lane of traffic could properly form and in a place where Mr. White had a right to believe he would not encounter a vehicle." To support his assertion that an issue existed for the trier of fact, White relied upon the affidavit of Kenneth Cottingham, a professional traffic engineer, who opined that only one legal westbound lane of traffic existed on Casino Road. Cottingham based his conclusion upon his reading of the Manual on Uniform

[636]*636Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways and specifically declared that

there was only one legal westbound lane other than the two way left turn lane because two lanes were not marked as required by the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Section 3B-2 which has been adopted as the standard by the State of Washington. Further, in [my] opinion the designer of the roadway did not desire to have more than a single westbound lane because of the lane marking, and because good design practices would preclude two lanes at the driveway entrance to the 7-Eleven parking facility. The fact that the lane width is wider than necessary to accommodate one lane of traffic does not give a motorist the freedom to force his vehicle into a space adjacent to a vehicle within the lane and claim that he has "a lane".
7. In [my] opinion, a motorist cannot lawfully pass on the right where no proper lane designation permits this. This would be so regardless of driver practices which may or may not comply with legal requirements.
8. In [my] opinion, regardless of the degree of fault which may be attributed to Plaintiff, if any, the Defendant driver was negligent in forming a lane to the right and passing traffic where no proper lane has been designated. In such event the offending motorist is taking a chance that a left turning vehicle will not be aware that he is proceeding improperly.

White concluded that a factual issue existed as to whether Solaegui was "moving lawfully" pursuant to RCW 46.61-.115 when he traveled to the right of the westbound through lane. The trial court granted Solaegui's motion for summary judgment, and White now appeals.

In reviewing an appeal from summary judgment, an appellate court "places itself in the position of the trial court and considers the facts in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Young v. Key Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 112 Wn.2d 216, 226, 770 P.2d 182 (1989).

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White v. Solaegui, 815 P.2d 784, 62 Wash. App. 632, 1991 Wash. App. LEXIS 328 (Wash. Ct. App. 1991).

815 P.2d 784 (White v. Solaegui) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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