Watson v. Regional Transportation District

762 P.2d 133 (1988)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
W
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Watson v. Regional Transportation District

Colorado Supreme Court
762 P.2d 133 (1988)

JL

Facts

Jayma Watson (plaintiff) was riding as a passenger on a motorcycle driven by her husband, Randy Watson. Jayma and Randy jointly owned the motorcycle, but Jayma did not have an operator’s license and did not know how to drive the motorcycle. The motorcycle collided with a bus operated by Regional Transportation District (RTD) (defendant), when the bus stopped while making a right turn in front of the motorcycle. Randy attempted to stop the motorcycle, but it skidded 63 feet and hit the back of the bus. Jayma suffered severe injuries to her leg and foot. Jayma sued RTD, alleging negligence. RTD asserted that the accident was caused by Randy’s negligence, and Randy’s negligence should be imputed to Jayma. The trial court instructed the jury that Randy’s negligence would be imputed to Jayma. The jury determined that RTD was 51 percent at fault, and Randy was 49 percent at fault. The trial court awarded damages to Jayma, reduced by the 49-percent comparative negligence finding by the jury. Jayma appealed, and the court of appeals affirmed the ruling imputing Randy’s comparative negligence to Jayma. Jayma then petitioned the Colorado Supreme Court for review.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Lohr, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Torts

Key Terms