
    
      Opinion issued June 4, 1980
    
    JULIE PEIFFER vs. DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS
    (CC-79-525)
    
      Ralph C. Dusic, Jr., Attorney at Law, for the claimant.
    
      Nancy J. Aliff, Attorney at Law, for the respondent.
   WALLACE, JUDGE:

In late November, 1978, the claimant was driving her 1972 Chevrolet Corvette on U. S. Route 60 toward Charleston after dark. Her automobile struck a pothole approximately 1-1/2 feet wide and two or three inches deep, causing damage to the front of her car. The claimant seeks to recover the sum of $492.23.

The State is neither an insurer nor a guarantor of the safety of motorists on its highways. Adkins v. Sims, 130 W.Va. 645, 46 S.E.2d 81 (1947). The respondent cannot be held liable for damage caused by a collision with a pothole unless the claimant proves that the respondent had actual or constructive knowledge of the existence of the pothole, and a reasonable amount of time to repair it or take other suitable action. Davis v. Dept. of Highways, 11 Ct.Cl. 150 (1977). Since the claimant did not meet that burden of proof, this claim must be denied.

Claim disallowed.  