Sanchez v. East Contra Costa Irrigation Co.
California Supreme Court
205 Cal. 515, 271 P. 1060 (1928)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
East Contra Costa Irrigation Co. (ECCI) (defendant) owned irrigation canals and ditches. ECCI constructed a siphon so that a canal could cross a creek. The siphon carried water under the creek from the canal on one side of the creek to the canal on the other side. The opening of the siphon at the end of the canal was four feet wide and unguarded. No sign warned of the siphon’s presence. Arturo Sanchez (plaintiff) and his family lived in one of the houses ECCI had constructed for employees a short distance from the canal. The road leading to the houses ran along the canal. There was a low concrete bulkhead between the road and the canal. Sanchez’s five-year-old son was playing with other children at the edge of the main canal, which was filled with three feet of water. The water in the canal was muddy, obscuring the opening of the siphon. While trying to wet a handkerchief, the child fell into the canal, slipped into the siphon at the bottom of the water, and drowned. Sanchez obtained a judgment against ECCI for his child’s death. ECCI appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Langdon, J.)
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