OPINION ISSUED JULY 10, 1987

HARVEY H. BAUER AND SHIRLEY BAUER
VS.
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS

(CC-86-331)

Claimant, Shirley Bauer, appeared in person.
Nancy J. Aliff, Attorney at Law, for respondent.

PER CURIAM:

This claim was originally styled in the name of Shirley Bauer, but the
testimony indicated that
the vehicle, a 1986 Pontiac Grand AM, was titled in the name of Harvey
H. Bauer and Shirley
Bauer. The Court, on Ms. Bauer's motion, amended the style to include
Harvey H. Bauer as an
additional claimant.

Claimant Shirley Bauer testified that she was operating the vehicle in
a northerly direction on
Route 61 between Crown Hill and East Bank, Kanawha Count, when the
vehicle struck a hole
in the pavement. She was alone in the vehicle at the time. The incident
occurred on August 24,
1986, at approximately 6:00 p.m. The weather was clear. The highway is a
two-lane, blacktop
road. It was not yet dark at the time of this incident. As a result of
striking the hole, it was
necessary to replace a wheel and cover and to have the automobile
aligned in the amount of
$158.70.

Claimant Shirley Bauer testified that the hole was in the travel
portion of the highway. It was
located in the northbound lane, the lane in which she was travelling.
She described the hole as
being a three foot by three foot section in the pavement. She estimated
that she had been
travelling in a straight path for approximately one hundred feet before
her vehicle struck the hole.
Ms. Bauer alleges that someone was placing a new culvert at this and
other locations and had
failed to place a warning sign. She admitted that she was not aware
whether respondent, a utility,
a contractor or some other individual was performing the work. She had
not travelled the route
recently, at the time of the incident, and had not complained of the
defect to the respondent.

James P. Dingess, County Supervisor for the eastern half of Kanawha
County with
respondent, testified that he reviewed respondent records. Respondent
had not been doing any
work just immediately prior to the date of this incident. He further
stated that on occasion,
contractors and utility companies alter the surface of highway in this
area.

The law of West Virginia is well established that the State is neither
an insurer nor a guarantor
of the safety of persons travelling on its highways. Adkins vs. Sims,
130 W.Va. 645, 45 S.E.2d
81 (1947); Parsons vs. State Road Commission, 8 Ct.Cl. 35 (1969). For
the respondent to
be found liable for damages caused by road defects of this type, the
claimant must prove that
the respondent had actual or constructive notice of the defect. Davis
Auto Parts vs.
Department of Highways, 12 Ct.Cl. 31 (1977). Since the claimant brought
forth no evidence
to that effect and did not meet the burden of proof, this claim is
denied.

Claim disallowed.