Jurisprudence Commons^™

Legal Method—Deciding The Retroactive Effect Of Overruling Decisions—Lau V. Nelson, 92 Wn. 2d 823, 601 P.2d 527 (1979), Robert B. Fisko

Washington Law Review

On December 21, 1978, the Washington Supreme Court decided in Robberts v. Johnson to overrule the common law gross negligence rule applied in Lau and earlier cases, and to adopt the ordinary negligence rule, followed by a majority of states. Remanding to trial on an ordinary negligence standard, the court gave plaintiff Robberts the retroactive benefit of the new rule, but remained silent on any further retroactive effect of the decision. The principal issue in Lau's second appeal, argued after the filing of the Robberts decision, was whether and to what extent the Robberts overruling decision should be given further …