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MUNICIPAL LIABILITY FOR ACCIDENTS ON STATE HIGHWAYS
On February 14, 2008, the Arizona Court of Appeals rendered its decision in State of Arizona v. City of Kingman,523 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 24 (2008). In that case, the plaintiff had been injured in a motorcycle accident at an intersection in Kingman, Arizona. The plaintiff sued both the State of Arizona and the City of Kingman claiming they were responsible for the intersection and that the defendants were negligent in the operation and maintenance of the intersection. Kingman alleged that it had no duty to the plaintiff because the intersection was totally controlled and maintained by the State. ADOT, on the other hand, claimed that Kingman participated in a "joint-effort" to improve the intersection and therefore Kingman exercised control over the intersection and assumed a duty to plaintiff. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and a judgment against ADOT in the amount of $1,023,000.00. It found no liability on the part of Kingman. The State appealed the judgment in favor of Kingman.
The Appeals Court upheld the Superior Court’s decision. The Court found that there was no evidence that ADOT ever authorized the City to exercise any authority to design or make any improvements with respect to the intersection or that the City ever did so. Nor was there any evidence that an IGA existed between the City and ADOT pertaining to the operation of any part of the State highway that fell within the City and that the City recognized and accepted ADOT’s control over the intersection prior to the accident.
Noting that there was no IGA between Kingman and ADOT, the Court held that in order to find Kingman liable, there would have to be facts to support that Kingman assumed control either over the design or the operation or maintenance of the intersection. In the absence of such facts, the law grants exclusive control of State highways to ADOT. The Court said:
In short, before a city can be held liable for actual control of an intersection that is part of the state highway system absent an IGA, the city must assume responsibility for the planning or design of the intersection, or must actually participate in maintaining or operating it . . .
All contracts and intergovernmental agreements should be carefully scrutinized and municipalities should understand the risks it is accepting pursuant to any contract and intergovernmental agreement.
THE FOREGOING IS MERELY A PARTIAL
SUMMARY OF THE CASE
AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE RELIED UPON AS A LEGAL
OPINION.
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