Mountain Fir Lumber Co. v. Temple Distributing Co.

Plaintiff brought this action for property damage resulting from a fire caused by the ignition of gasoline while defendant Temple Distributing Co. was transporting it in a gasoline delivery truck. We use the term defendant in this opinion to refer to Temple Distributing Co., the only defendant that appeared in the appeal. Defendant interposed an affirmative defense of contributory negligence, based on plaintiffs storage of combustible logging debris on its property. Plaintiff moved for a partial summary judgment on the affirmative defense, contending that, as a matter of law, it was entitled…