OPINION ISSUED FEBRUARY 19, 1988

JANEY N. QUICK
VS.
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS

(CC-87-157)

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

PER CURIAM:

The claimant was operating her 1982 Subaru on Route 7/19, Monongalia
Boulevard,
Monongalia County, when her vehicle struck two rocks. Cost of repair to
the vehicle amounted
to $257.46. The rocks had rolled from a hill over a retaining wall onto
the highway. The incident
occurred on May 19, 1987, at approximately 5:00 a.m. The claimant was
driving to her place of
employment at Internal Medicine Associates in Morgantown. She testified
that she was travelling
at between 40 and 45 mph. She stated that she had observed rocks on the
shoulder of the road
on previous occasions, but not on the highway itself. She travelled this
route on a daily basis.

William L. Fieldhouse, County Maintenance Superintendent for Monongalia
County, testified
that he was familiar with the hillside in the area of the roadway in
question. He described the
roadway as being a four-lane highway with very wide berms. He stated
that the hillside is a very
steep slope along the edge of the road; it is not a benched cliff. The
witness mentioned that the
back side of this particular retaining wall is checked regularly. Prior
to the claimant's accident, he
had not been advised of any complaints of rocks in the roadway itself.

The State is neither an insurer nor a guarantor of the safety of
motorists travelling on its
roadways. The unexplained falling of a rock or boulder onto a highway,
without a positive
showing that respondent knew or should have anticipated damage to
property is insufficient to
justify an award. Hammond vs. Dept. of Highways, 11 Ct.Cl. 234 (1977).
William L.
Fieldhouse, County Maintenance Superintendent for Monongalia County,
with respondent,
testified that there had been no complaints of rock in the roadway
immediately prior to claimant's
action. The Court concludes that claimant has not shown any negligence
on the part of
respondent to justify an award in this claim.

Claim disallowed.