In order that those charged with traffic management may know what sort of acts or omissions in this field have resulted in damage suits, and what sort of court decisions have been handed down, the following analysis of selected cases is presented. A brief statement of legal principles involved, illustrated by a digest of selected cases and decisions, will, it is hoped, give traffic personnel some idea of what to expect in the future. A somewhat confusing factor is that the subject matter concerns different activities, different agencies, and different jurisdictions. And legal rules vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The interaction of these many and various factors makes this field of law something of a judicial wilderness. Principles and precedents presented here, however, should help guide those who must make their way through it. First, it is well to understand the terms courts use. Explanations cannot be complete because of limited space. But it is possible to give a working knowledge of legal terms and court procedure. The full effect of what courts do can be grasped only by understanding the words they speak.
The relationship between Iowa’s roads anddrainage developed when rural roads were originallyconstructed. The land parallel to roadways wasexcavated ...
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United States Department of Transportation
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