Bastiani v. Lesser-Goldman Cotton Co.

• Decision Date: 19 July 1927
• Docket Number: No. 19815.,19815.
• Citation: 297 S.W. 174
• Parties: DE BASTIANI v. LESSER-GOLDMAN COTTON CO.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

297 S.W. 174

DE BASTIANI v. LESSER-GOLDMAN COTTON CO.

No. 19815.

St. Louis Court of Appeals, Missouri.

July 19, 1927.

Rehearing Denied July 26, 1927.

Appeal from St. Louis Circuit Court; H. A. Rosskopf, Judge.

"Not to be officially published."

Action by Otto De Bastiani against the Lesser-Goldman Cotton Company. From the judgment, defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Jones, Hooker, Sullivan & Angert and Willard A. McCaleb, all of St. Louis, for appellant.

George F. Beck, of St. Louis, for respondent.

NIPPER, J.

This is an action for damages alleged to have been sustained by plaintiff while in the employ of defendant. Plaintiff was employed by defendant in November, 1922, as an engineer in defendant's heating, lighting, and power plant in the basement of its building in St. Louis. In this basement was a boiler room and a large coal bin where the coal was kept or stored for the purpose of use in furnishing light, heat and power for the building. The coal was put into this bin through an opening in the sidewalk, and a good portion of the bin was under the sidewalk. The floor of said coal bin was of concrete and was about two feet higher than the floor of the basement or boiler room. There was an opening in said coal bin about three by six feet, and the coal would be shoveled from the floor or ledge of the coal bin into the furnace. When this coal bin was filled, large and heavy lumps of coal would frequently roll out through this opening onto the ledge and then drop to the floor of the basement, which was about two feet lower than the ledge or floor of the coal bin.

The petition alleges that the defendant was negligent in failing to furnish plaintiff a reasonably safe place in which to work.

The answer consisted of a plea of contributory negligence and assumption of risk.

While plaintiff was working around the boiler, aiding the fireman in doing some work which was necessary, and in the regular course of his employment, a large lump of coal suddenly rolled out of the opening in said bin and fell from the ledge to the floor of the basement and injured plaintiff. This injury occurred about three years after plaintiff first began working there. At the particular time of the accident, the fireman was pulling clinkers out of the door of the furnace, and plaintiff was turning on the water from the faucet to wet the clinkers so as to keep the heat off them in order that they might continue their work. This was done by means of a hose which was fastened to a faucet near by.

Plaintiff had complained to the general manager on two occasions about the coal falling from this ledge and injuring people, but the manager gave him no assurance of anything being done at any time. Plaintiff testified that he made these complaints because he considered the situation and condition there dangerous. The lump of coal which injured plaintiff rolled out through the opening of the coal bin, over the ledge, and down onto the boiler room floor, where it injured plaintiff. The coal was inclined to roll out of this bin on account of the vibration caused by street cars and trucks passing over the street near the bin. This would happen at intervals, when such vibrations were caused. The coal bin was nearly full of coal at the time.

The facts are brief, and there is no...