Brauer v. St. Louis County Gas Co.

• Citation: 238 S.W. 519
• Decision Date: 07 March 1922
• Docket Number: No. 16964.,16964.
• Parties: BRAUER v. ST. LOWS COUNTY GAS CO.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)

238 S.W. 519

BRAUER v. ST. LOWS COUNTY GAS CO.

No. 16964.

St. Louis Court of Appeals. Missouri.

March 7, 1922.

Appeal from St. Louis Circuit Court; John W. McElhinney, Judge.

"Not to be officially published."

Action by William C. Brauer against the St. Louis County Gas Company. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Affirmed.

A. E. L. Gardner, of Clayton, for appellant.

S. C. Rogers, of St. Louis, for respondent.

ALLEN, P. J.

This is an action for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained by plaintiff by reason of the negligence of the defendant in permitting gas to escape from its gas mains and to permeate plaintiff's residence in St. Louis county. The petition alleges that defendant is a corporation engaged in furnishing illuminating and fuel gas in St. Louis county, having its gas mains laid under the streets of "Carsonville" in said county; that on or about January 31, 1918, and prior and subsequent thereto, defendant negligently permitted one of its gas mains at the intersection of Natural Bridge road and Carson road, in said county, opposite the house in which plaintiff resided, to he and remain in such a defective and unsafe condition as to permit gas to escape from said main and leak into the basement of plaintiff's house and thence into the rooms of said house; that defendant was notified thereof, but negligently permitted said gas main to remain in such a defective, leaky, and unsafe condition for such a length of time thereafter that while plaintiff was occupying his house he was overcome and rendered unconscious by inhaling said gas which had so escaped into his house, whereby he was injured as set out in the petition. And it is alleged that plaintiff's said injuries were directly caused by the negligence of the defendant (1) in failing and neglecting to shut off, or cause to be shut off, the gas after being notified that the same was escaping, and (2) in failing to notify plaintiff that such gas was escaping and likely to leak into the basement of his building and into the rooms occupied by him. The answer is a general denial. The trial below, before the court and a jury, resulted in a verdict and judgment for plaintiff in the sum of $1,000, from which the defendant appeals.

The evidence shows that plaintiff's house, a frame structure, was located at the northeast corner of Natural Bridge and Carson roads in said county, and that upon the ground floor thereof plaintiff conducted a saloon. In the rear, or south of the saloon, was a dining room and kitchen, and above the saloon were rooms which plaintiff and his family occupied as sleeping quarters. On the night of January 31, 1918, about midnight, plaintiff, according to his testimony and that in his behalf, was overcome by the inhalation of gas which had escaped into the rooms of his house; and it is said that other members of plaintiff's family were affected likewise. And the testimony for plaintiff is to the effect that as a result of inhaling said gas he suffered from gas poisoning, resulting in an impairment of his health.

One Butts, who conducted a store on the northeast corner of Carson and Natural Bridge roads, testified that he detected escaping gas on January 31 between 1 and 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and thereupon telephoned to the defendant's office; and that defendant sent a man to the place. Referring to the latter, the witness said:

"All that he done was to walk out into the street and inspect around, and he called up the St. Louis County Gas Company between 4 and 5 o'clock in the evening. This same party told me there was no danger inside, but the break was on the outside. There was escaping gas in my place. We couldn't stay in the store at all."

Further testimony in the case is to the effect that defendant's general foreman, in response to a telephone call, sent to Carsonville the man referred to by the witness Butts. The foreman testified that he waited for this man to return to defendant's office, and, after questioning him, the foreman went to Carsonville, where he arrived about 7 o'clock. The testimony of the foreman is that he took with him a valve key, and went to the point where the valve boxes were located in the street, or roadway, near plaintiff's sidewalk, but that the valve boxes were covered with snow and ice, and the ground frozen, and that it was "impossible to even try to unlock those boxes." Re then testified that he went to the Bellerive Golf Club, in the neighborhood, and shut off a valve there in one of defendant's mains, returned to the Natural Bridge road, and proceeded to a point south of the Carson road, where he shut off another valve; that shutting off these valves would relieve the pressure, though it "would take probably hours before the mains would be empty." He further testified that he returned that night, in response to a telephone call which he received about midnight, and arrived at plaintiff's place about 1:15 on the morning of February 1.

The evidence is that it was extremely cold at the time, the temperature, it is said, being 17 degrees below zero. The foreman further testified that he remained at "plaintiff's house until about 4 o'clock on the morning of February 1, returning again about 10:30 a. in. of that day, and that he sent out a gang of men "the first thing in the morning." It appears that these men dug in the street or roadway, thawing the ground by burning oil upon it, to a depth of about 40 inches, and that it was found that the leak in question was due to a broken reducer. Defendant's foreman stated that this reducer had been cracked by reason of the fact that the ground about it had become frozen, though there is some testimony for plaintiff that the...