Leonard v. West Extension Irrigation District

McAllister, j.

The plaintiff brought this action to recover for 25 head of cattle drowned in defendant’s irrigation canal. The court directed a verdict for defendant and plaintiff appeals.

Plaintiff contends that defendant owed a duty to provide and maintain a fence along its canal adequate to keep thirsty cattle out of the canal and that its negligence in performing that duty was the cause of plaintiff’s loss.

There is little dispute about the controlling facts. Defendant owns and operates an irrigation canal some 27 miles long, partly in Umatilla County. The canal was constructed in 1916 by…