Alabama Power Co. v. Brooks
| Decision Date | 20 September 1985 |
| Citation | 479 So.2d 1169 |
| Parties | ALABAMA POWER COMPANY v. George Thomas BROOKS. 84-46. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
S. Allen Baker, Jr. and Dan H. McCrary of Balch & Bingham, Birmingham, for appellant.
David H. Marsh and Kenneth W. Hooks of Emond & Vines, Birmingham, for appellee.
Alabama Power Company appeals from a judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of George Brooks in this action to recover damages for personal injuries. We affirm.
George Brooks filed suit in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County against Alabama Power Company, Inc. (APCo), 1 alleging that it negligently and/or wantonly maintained its electrical power lines and failed to warn him of the resulting danger. The trial court directed a verdict on the wantonness count in favor of APCo, and the issue of negligence was submitted to the jury, which returned a verdict for Brooks in the amount of $452,496.00. 2 The trial court subsequently denied APCo's motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial, and it appeals.
On September 25, 1975, Brooks received serious injuries 3 while on the job, when the mast or "boom" on the mobile drilling rig he was operating came into contact with a 7,200-volt uninsulated power line, which had been installed and maintained by APCo. The contact occurred while he was checking the hydraulic fluid, which was located in a container underneath the boom. At the time he suffered his injuries, he was employed by Mitchell-Neely Mining Company at its Lanco Pit, operating in Tuscaloosa County. The drilling rig which Brooks was operating was a Chicago Pneumatic T650. It consisted of a truck and body supporting an erectable drill boom. This particular rig had been located at the Lanco Pit operation of Mitchell-Neely for several weeks. The company that owned and operated the pit prior to Mitchell-Neely was also in the business of strip mining. Such an operation generally requires the use of drilling rigs of this type.
Two days prior to the date Brooks was injured, bad weather caused the Lanco Pit operation to shut down in the middle of the day, and all of the workers were sent home. At that time, Brooks drove the drilling rig to the shop area and parked it under a dusk-to-dawn light. This light, which was attached to the same utility pole that supported the line eventually contacted, was the only such light located in that area. Brooks parked the drilling rig approximately 15 feet from a gas pump used to fuel the equipment utilized in the mining operation.
On the date of his injury, Brooks arrived at work shortly before 6:00 a.m. It was customary for him to conduct the preshift servicing of the equipment prior to daylight. The boom, which was located on top of the rig, had to be raised to check the hydraulic fluid. Before raising the boom, Brooks backed the rig a short distance from the utility pole to avoid striking the light. He then let the truck jacks down to stabilize the rig and began raising the boom. He watched the back of the boom to insure that it did not strike the truck and cause damage to the arms that raised and lowered it. Prior to reaching its fully-extended position, the boom came into contact with the line. The electric current traveled through the boom and operating controls and into Brooks.
Because it was dark when the contact occurred, Brooks could not see the line; however, he knew it was there. He testified at trial that he associated no danger with what he was doing that morning. He had seen the boom in the raised position around that line and had worked on the drill with the boom in the extended position around the line on prior occasions. It was not readily apparent to him that the boom could reach the line which was contacted.
The lines which ran through the shop area were installed by APCo in 1966, to provide electrical service to the AlCo Mining Company, predecessor to Mitchell-Neely. APCo made the decision concerning the positioning of the line in question and had the authority at any time during or subsequent to its installation to heighten, bury, or insulate it. Later that year, APCo received notice that certain types of equipment having access to the shop area necessitated its raising some power lines to provide adequate clearance. An APCo work order indicated that taller utility poles were installed in the area to accommodate certain types of large equipment traveling on a driveway to and from the pit. Although the particular span of lines raised at that time did not contain the line that Brooks eventually contacted, the driveway leading to the pit also provided access to the shop area. Brooks parked the rig in this driveway, which ran through the shop area between the gas pump and the power line in question. A work order dated January 5, 1967, reflects that APCo returned again to the shop area and conducted additional work. Extra lines were added to accommodate additional load requirements necessitated by the use of certain power tools there, such as a lathe, saw, and welder.
APCo first contends that the trial court committed reversible error by not granting its motion for a directed verdict and later refusing its motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. It argues that it had no duty to insulate its lines in the shop area or to take any precautionary measures with respect thereto because it had no notice, actual or constructive, of any activity on, around, or under the subject lines, which would have indicated that persons might come into contact with them. We disagree.
In Bush v. Alabama Power Co., 457 So.2d 350, 353 (Ala.1984), the Court restated the duty of a power company with regard to the use and location of uninsulated electrical lines:
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See also Alabama Power Company v. Smith, 273 Ala. 509, 142 So.2d 228 (1962), and Alabama Power Co. v. Irwin, 260 Ala. 673, 72 So.2d 300 (1954).
William Dow, an APCo engineer, testified as follows:
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