Revised Code of Washington
Wash. Rev. Code § 4.08.040 (2026)
When either spouse or either domestic partner may join, defend
✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases:
SyfertCases citing this section
WA-LEGapp.leg.wa.gov
JustiaTitle on Justia
CornellLII Search
CasesGoogle Scholar
Either spouse or either domestic partner may join in all causes of action arising from injuries to the person or character of either or both of them, or from injuries to the property of either or both of them, or arising out of any contract in favor of either or both of them.
If the spouses or the domestic partners are sued together, either or both spouses or either or both domestic partners may defend, and if one spouse or one domestic partner neglects to defend, the other spouse or other domestic partner may defend for the nonacting spouse or nonacting domestic partner also. Each spouse or each domestic partner may defend in all cases in which he or she is interested, whether that spouse or that domestic partner is sued with the other spouse or other domestic partner or not.
[ 2008 c 6 s 408; 1972 ex.s. c 108 s 2; Code 1881 s 7; 1877 p 4 s 7; 1875 p 4 s 3; 1854 p 219 s 492; RRS s 182.]
Notes:
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8
cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1966–2026 · leading case: Grayson v. Platis, 978 P.2d 1105 (Wash. Ct. App. 1999).
Grayson v. Platis, 978 P.2d 1105 (Wash. Ct. App. 1999). “030 and RCW 4.08.040. Vasey v. Snohomish County, 44 Wn.”
Mangham v. Gold Seal Chinchillas, Inc., 416 P.2d 680 (Wash. 1966). “This rule is not to be considered as an abrogation of RCW 4.08.040 dealing with joinder of husband and wife.”
Lyzanchuk v. Yakima Ranches Owners Ass'n, 866 P.2d 695 (Wash. Ct. App. 1994). “RCW 4.08.040 ("Husband and wife may join in all causes of action arising from .”
Dep't of Labor & Indus. v. Wendt, 735 P.2d 1334 (Wash. Ct. App. 1987). “RCW 4.08.040; CR 20(c). 2 Former RCW 51.24.”
Joel Anderson, V. Ernest Edsel (Wash. Ct. App. 2023). “Among her numerous arguments, she contends that the trial court’s decision to prohibit her participation violated the statutory right of spouses to defend their interests in RCW 4.08.040. RCW 4.08.040 provides, in part, If the spouses or the domestic partners are sued together,…”
Tom Lyth & Mara-liisa Lyth v. Christian Hatch & Stacie Hatch (Wash. Ct. App. 2019). “RCW4.08.040. In this case, the lawsuit named both Chris and Stacie, as husband and wife, and their marital community.”
Stafford Healthcare Seatac, Llc, V. Gale M. Page (Wash. Ct. App. 2024). “Similarly, RCW 4.08.040 does not address counterclaims, but rather, when spouses or domestic partners may join or defend an action.”
Maura Leanne Grandison v. Inland Neurosurgery & Spine Assocs. (Wash. Ct. App. 2026). “Instead, she argues RCW 4.08.040 permits her spouse to join her complaint as a party and thereby appear in the case.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.