Byerly v. Connor, No. 23597
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of South Carolina |
| Writing for the Court | HARWELL |
| Citation | 415 S.E.2d 796,307 S.C. 441 |
| Parties | Marvin BYERLY, Administrator of the Estate of Karl A. Byerly, deceased, Appellant, v. Ronald E. CONNOR, Carolina Heating and Electric, and The South Carolina Public Service Authority, by and through their wholly owned State Utility, Santee Cooper, Defendants, of whom, The South Carolina Public Service Authority, by and through their wholly owned State Utility, Santee Cooper, is Respondent. . Heard |
| Decision Date | 04 February 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 23597 |
Page 796
Byerly, deceased, Appellant,
v.
Ronald E. CONNOR, Carolina Heating and Electric, and The
South Carolina Public Service Authority, by and
through their wholly owned State
Utility, Santee Cooper, Defendants,
of whom,
The South Carolina Public Service Authority, by and through
their wholly owned State Utility, Santee Cooper,
is Respondent.
Decided March 16, 1992.
Page 797
[307 S.C. 442] John E. Miles, Sumter, for appellant.
George C. James, of Richardson, James & Player, Sumter, for respondent.
HARWELL, Chief Justice:
This is a wrongful death action. The dispositive issue is whether respondent South Carolina Public Service Authority, by and through its wholly owned state utility, Santee Cooper (Santee Cooper), owed a duty to warn of a latent hazardous [307 S.C. 443] condition which it did not create and about which it had no knowledge. The trial judge held that it did not. We affirm.
Page 798
I. FACTS
On June 20, 1987, Karl A. Byerly, the son of appellant Marvin Byerly, was electrocuted after he dived from a houseboat into the waters of Lake Marion. The houseboat on which the decedent was a guest was moored to a dock constructed and maintained by J & J Marina, Inc., a lessee of Santee Cooper. The electrical current which killed Byerly was emitted either from a defectively wired outlet on the dock to which the houseboat was moored, or from a defect in the wiring of the houseboat itself. Appellant brought an action alleging that the defendants committed various acts of negligence which proximately caused Karl A. Byerly's death. The trial judge granted summary judgment in favor of Santee Cooper on the ground that, among other things, Santee Cooper had no duty to warn the decedent that a latent hazardous condition existed at J & J Marina.
II. DISCUSSION
A legal duty is that which the law requires to be done or forborne with respect to a particular individual or the public at large. South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. v. Utilities Construction Co., 244 S.C. 79, 135 S.E.2d 613 (1964). Without a violation of such a legal duty, there is no negligence. Id.
An owner of land possesses a general duty to warn others of latent hazardous conditions on his land. This duty arises from the owner's superior knowledge of conditions on the premises within his control. See Dunbar v. Charleston & W.C. Ry. Co., 211 S.C. 209, 44 S.E.2d 314 (1947). However, when land is occupied by a lessee, as in this case, the law of property regards the lease as equivalent to a sale of the premises for the term of the lease. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the lessor surrenders possession and control of the land to the lessee. After the premises are surrendered in good condition, the lessor typically is not responsible for hazardous conditions which thereafter develop or are created by the lessee. W. Keeton, D. Dobbs, R. Keeton & D. Owen, Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts 434 (5th [307 S.C. 444] ed. 1984). See also Young v. Morrisey, 285 S.C. 236, 329 S.E.2d 426 (1985) (landlord owes no duty to maintain leased premises in a safe condition). 1
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Creighton v. Coligny Plaza Ltd., No. 2909.
...Partnership and its individual partners. The trial court found that the Partnership owed no duty to Ms. Creighton under Byerly v. Connor, 307 S.C. 441, 415 S.E.2d 796 (1992). In Byerly, the South Carolina Supreme Court discussed the general rule that when land is occupied by a lessee, in th......
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De Landaverde v. Navarro, No. 1719, 2089, Sept. Term, 2016
...the generator's exhaust system. Id. at 538. In reaching that conclusion, 238 Md.App. 259the District Court relied upon Byerly v. Connor , 307 S.C. 441, 415 S.E.2d 796 (1992). In that case, Byerly was electrocuted when he dove into a lake from a houseboat that was moored to a dock that had b......
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Wright v. PRG Real Estate Mgmt., Inc., Appellate Case No. 2013–002157.
...A duty assumed because of a voluntary undertaking must be strictly limited to the scope of that undertaking.”); see also Byerly v. Connor, 307 S.C. 441, 445, 415 S.E.2d 796, 799 (1992) (finding defendant had no duty to inspect for a latent defect because he had 413 S.C. 288“undertaken a lim......
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Pitts v. JACKSON NAT. LIFE INS. CO., No. 3571.
...judgment can be granted when plain, palpable, and indisputable facts exist on which reasonable minds cannot differ." Byerly v. Connor, 307 S.C. 441, 445, 415 S.E.2d 796, 799 "In reviewing the grant of a summary judgment motion, this Court applies the same standard which governs the trial co......
-
Creighton v. Coligny Plaza Ltd., No. 2909.
...Partnership and its individual partners. The trial court found that the Partnership owed no duty to Ms. Creighton under Byerly v. Connor, 307 S.C. 441, 415 S.E.2d 796 (1992). In Byerly, the South Carolina Supreme Court discussed the general rule that when land is occupied by a lessee, in th......
-
De Landaverde v. Navarro, No. 1719, 2089, Sept. Term, 2016
...the generator's exhaust system. Id. at 538. In reaching that conclusion, 238 Md.App. 259the District Court relied upon Byerly v. Connor , 307 S.C. 441, 415 S.E.2d 796 (1992). In that case, Byerly was electrocuted when he dove into a lake from a houseboat that was moored to a dock that had b......
-
Wright v. PRG Real Estate Mgmt., Inc., Appellate Case No. 2013–002157.
...A duty assumed because of a voluntary undertaking must be strictly limited to the scope of that undertaking.”); see also Byerly v. Connor, 307 S.C. 441, 445, 415 S.E.2d 796, 799 (1992) (finding defendant had no duty to inspect for a latent defect because he had 413 S.C. 288“undertaken a lim......
-
Pitts v. JACKSON NAT. LIFE INS. CO., No. 3571.
...judgment can be granted when plain, palpable, and indisputable facts exist on which reasonable minds cannot differ." Byerly v. Connor, 307 S.C. 441, 445, 415 S.E.2d 796, 799 "In reviewing the grant of a summary judgment motion, this Court applies the same standard which governs the trial co......