Dalton v. Selah Water Users' Ass'n

Citations

• 67 Wash. 589
• 122 P. 4
• 1912 Wash. LEXIS 1216

Syllabus

<p>Waters and Water Courses — Irrigation Canal — Damages from Flooding — Negligence—Evidence—Res Ipsa Loquitur. A finding of negligence in attempting to repair an irrigation canal on a hillside, by putting in plank side lining to protect a weakened side, is sustained, and the doctrine óf res ipsa loquitur applies, where it appears that a mass of earth 12 to 16 feet in thickness and 170 to 180 feet in length, broke from the lower side of the canal, that a few days before the break, defendant undertook to put in a side lining of planks, tamped with a four-inch space of loose earth, that a witness found the earth washed out and soft and notified the defendant that the hank would break, hut defendant paid no heed to the warning, and it appears that the court viewed the premises and the break was due to the force of the water and condition of the hank, rather than any outside intervening cause.</p>