Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Superior Court

Petitioner, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (P.G.& E.), is the defendant in a personal injury action brought by real party in interest, Mark Sundberg (plaintiff). P.G.& E. seeks a writ of mandate ordering respondent superior court to set aside a ruling denying P.G.& E.’s motion for summary judgment. We issued an alternative writ to consider whether Civil Code section 846 immunizes P.G.& E. from liability for injuries plaintiff sustained while engaged in recreational boating on navigable waters which flow over P.G.& E.’s land. As we conclude that petitioner is mot entitled to the protection of section 846, we shall deny the writ.

On May 29, 1978, plaintiff and his family were camping at a United States Forest Service campground bordering Lake Shasta. Plaintiff launched his sailboat, a catamaran with an aluminum mast, from a nearby launching ramp supervised by forest service employees. Plaintiff’s purpose was recreational. Once in the water, the boat drifted, the mast came into contact with *256 P.G.& E. power lines overhanging the water, and plaintiff sustained the injuries which are the subject of the underlying action.

The P.G.& E. power lines pass over Bailey Cove,…