Del Rosario v. Del Rosario

A non-English speaking passenger in a motor vehicle accident seeks to avoid a release she signed that was written in English, prepared by an insurance adjuster, and translated by her sister-in-law who is one of the defendants. In Finch v. Carlton, 84 Wn.2d 140, 524 P.2d 898 (1974), this court created a special exception to general contract principles governing the enforceability of personal injury releases. Now, we must decide whether the Finch “fairly and knowingly made” exception extends to all personal injury releases. We conclude that the Finch exception applies only to unknown or latent…