Kitsap County Transportation Co. v. City of Seattle

Citations

• 75 Wash. 673
• 135 P. 476
• 1913 Wash. LEXIS 2263

Syllabus

<p>Municipal Corporations — Obstructions in Navigable Waters— Liability. A city is not liable for injuries sustained on account of obstructions in navigable waters within its borders, in the absence of statute expressly imposing upon it the duty of keeping such waters open and free from obstruction.</p> <p>Same — Obstructions—Liability—Ordinances—Construction. Under'Seattle city charter, art. 12, §§ 1 and 5, providing that the city shall exercise control of the harbor and water front, and appoint a port warden, and under ordinances making it unlawful for any one to discharge or deposit any refuse in the waters of Elliott Bay, and making it the duty of the port warden to enforce the ordinances, no duty is imposed upon the port warden or assumed by the city to remove debris cast into the harbor.</p> <p>Same — Ordinance—Liability for Negligence in Enforcing Ordinance. A city is not civilly liable for the negligence of its port warden in failing to enforce an ordinance prohibiting persons from casting debris in the navigable waters of the city.</p>