Lincoln County v. Fish

Citations

• 38 Wash. 105
• 80 P. 435
• 1905 Wash. LEXIS 1127

Syllabus

<p>Counties — Capacity to Sue — Highways — Obstruction— Action to Enjoin—Parties. A county under the laws of this state has the legal capacity to maintain an action in its own name to enjoin the obstruction of a public highway; since the restriction specified in Bal. Code, § 5673, relates only to actions at law, and since actions on behalf of the county must, under Bal. Code, § 342, be brought in the name of the county.</p> <p>Same—Road Supervisors—Power to Bring Civil Suit—County Commissioners. A road supervisor, a local officer charged with the duty of keeping roads open for travel, under the direction of the county commissioners, and of making complaint in case of criminal violation of the road laws, has no power to institute a civil action on behalf of the county for the obstruction of a public road, since the county commissioners, as the business agents of the county, are the only officers authorized to institute such actions in the name of the county.</p> <p>Same—County’s Right op Action—Duty to Keep Highways in Repair. The right of a county to maintain an action to enjoin the obstruction of a public highway, appropriately follows the county’s duty to keep the highways in a safe condition and its liability for neglect of such duty.</p>