Coffman v. PSI Energy, Inc.

• Decision Date: 30 September 2004
• Docket Number: No. 67A01-0401-CV-35.,67A01-0401-CV-35.
• Citation: 815 N.E.2d 522
• Parties: Carl COFFMAN and Deborah Coffman, Appellants-Plaintiffs, v. PSI ENERGY, INC., Rumpke of Indiana, LLC, Refuse Handling Services, Inc., and Mountain Tarp, Inc., Appellees-Defendants.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

815 N.E.2d 522

Carl COFFMAN and Deborah Coffman, Appellants-Plaintiffs, v. PSI ENERGY, INC., Rumpke of Indiana, LLC, Refuse Handling Services, Inc., and Mountain Tarp, Inc., Appellees-Defendants.

No. 67A01-0401-CV-35.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

September 30, 2004.

Roger L. Pardieck, The Pardieck Law Firm, Seymour, IN, Keith Johnson, Johnson Law Office, Terre Haute, IN, for Appellants.

Eric M. Cavanaugh, Steven J. Moss, Cinergy Services, Inc., Plainfield, IN, William W. Drummy, Wilkinson Goeller Modesitt Wilkinson & Drummy, Terre Haute, IN, for PSI Energy, Inc. Steven C. Coffaro, W. Keith Noel, Keating, Muething & Klekamp, PLL, Cincinnati, OH, for Rumpke of Indiana, LLC.

Doris L. Sweetin, Kevin C. Tyra, Tyra & Collesano, P.C., Indianapolis, IN, for Refuse Handling Services, Inc.

Edward R. Hannon, Herbert W. Guy, Jr., Hannon Roop & Hutton, P.C., Indianapolis, IN, for Mountain Tarp, Inc.

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

Appellants-plaintiffs Carl Coffman (Carl) and Deborah Coffman (Deborah), (collectively, the Coffmans) appeal the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of appellees-defendants PSI Energy, Inc. (PSI), Rumpke of Indiana, LLC (Rumpke), Refuse Handling Services, Inc. (Refuse Handling), and Mountain Tarp, Inc. (Mountain Tarp), with regard to the Coffmans' negligence and products liability claims. In this instance, Carl was injured when the tarp system he was using to cover a Rumpke trailer at Refuse Handling came into contact with a 69,000 volt power line that was owned by PSI.

In particular, the Coffmans contend that summary judgment was erroneously granted in favor of the four appellees because there were genuine issues of material fact regarding: (1) PSI's duty and breach of care with respect to their power lines; (2) Rumpke's failure to warn Carl of the characteristics of a dangerous chattel — the trailer — that it had provided for Carl's use, along the company's alleged failure to train Carl about the proper use of its equipment; (3) Refuse Handling's alleged breach of duty of care to Carl as a business invitee; and (4) the alleged defective design of Mountain Tarp's system, and whether that company's warnings to Carl were inadequate. The Coffmans further maintain that the trial court erroneously determined as a matter of law that their recovery is barred under Indiana's comparative fault scheme as to PSI, Rumpke¹ and Refuse Handling. Concluding that summary judgment was properly entered for all of the appellees, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS

The Coffmans reside in Dugger and, since 1988, Carl had been employed by Buchta Trucking (Buchta) as one of its drivers. Prior to working for Buchta, Carl had driven various types of trucks since 1981. In particular, Carl had experience driving thirty-nine and thirty-two foot dump haulers that involved tarps that rolled over the top of the dump trailer.

During the summer of 1999, Rumpke began subleasing Buchta trucks and drivers to do some hauling for them. At some point, Buchta leased Carl's services and truck cab to Rumpke. On November 16, 1999, Carl was dispatched to Mountain Tarp in Cincinnati, Ohio to pick up a forty-eight-foot trailer purchased by Rumpke, with a tarp that had been designed, manufactured, and installed by Mountain Tarp. The designated evidence shows that when Mountain Tarp installed its tarpaulin system to the Rumpke trailer that Carl was using, it applied a label warning of dangers posed by overhead power lines. The label, which had been applied near the crank mechanism and adjacent to the tarp brake handle that was used to operate the tarpaulin, stated in large red letters on a white background as follows:

DANGER Watch For Electrical Lines Overhead

Appellants' App. p. 136. This label had been affixed to the trailer before Carl obtained the trailer from the Mountain Tarp facility in Cincinnati. The trailer that Carl used on November 16 was at least three feet longer than the trailers Carl had previously pulled, and the tarp was designed to lift overhead, unlike the side-to-side rolling tarp, which Carl had predominantly used in the past. However, a representative from Mountain Tarp taught Carl how to operate the mechanical tarp device, and Carl indicated that he understood the instructions.

After picking up the trailer, Carl received a call on his cellular telephone, directing him to pick up a load of trash at a Refuse Handling distribution facility near Greencastle for transport to a landfill. The designated evidence demonstrated that Carl was aware of PSI's electrical power lines that were located at Refuse Handling because of his prior experience driving to and from that company at least twenty-five times before November 16, 1999.

Carl's trailer was filled at a trash-loading chute located near one of PSI's power lines that carried 69,000 volts of electricity. PSI records indicated that its power line was inspected on October 27, 1999 and, previously, on June 22, 1999.² When Carl raised the tarp over the trash-filled trailer, the metal tarp frame made contact with PSI's power lines, and electricity passed through the frame into the tractor-trailer. Carl saw a flash of fire, heard an explosion, and was thrown approximately ten feet from his truck. As a result of the incident, Carl sustained serious injuries, including burning of his spinal cord and nerves in his legs. After the accident, Carl was confined to a wheelchair and suffered from a persistent burning sensation, which he described as being similar to "sitting in scalding water." Appellants' App. p. 458.

On October 11, 2001, the Coffmans filed their complaint for damages for Carl's personal injuries and Deborah's loss of consortium against PSI, Rumpke, Refuse Handling, Mountain Tarp, and Vectren Corp.³ The complaint alleged that Carl was a business invitee of Refuse Handling when he received a severe electrical shock. The Coffmans also alleged that PSI negligently suspended the Power Line parallel to the graveled driving area of Refuse Handling, that Mountain Tarp failed to properly install the tarp system, and that Mountain Tarp and Rumpke failed to adequately warn Carl of the danger of operating the tarp in proximity to power lines.

By December 2, 2002, all of the appellees had filed motions for summary judgment. Following a hearing on those motions, the trial court granted the appellees' motion to strike the Coffmans' supplemental designation of evidence, granted each of the appellees' motions for summary judgment, and directed the entry of final judgment as to each of them on December 31, 2003. The Coffmans now appeal.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Summary Judgment Standard of Review

Pursuant to Rule 56(C) of the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure, summary judgment is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material fact and when the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. On review of a trial court's decision to grant or deny summary judgment, this Court applies the same standard as the trial court. Best Homes, Inc. v. Rainwater, 714 N.E.2d 702, 705 (Ind.Ct.App.1999). We must determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact requiring trial, and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. Neither the trial court nor the reviewing court may look beyond the evidence specifically designated to the trial court. Id.; see also Ind. Trial Rules 56(C), (H).

A party seeking summary judgment bears the burden to make a prima facie showing that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Am. Mgmt., Inc. v. MIF Realty, L.P., 666 N.E.2d 424, 428 (Ind.Ct.App.1996). Once the moving party satisfies this burden through evidence designated to the trial court pursuant to Trial Rule 56, the nonmoving party may not rest on its pleadings, but must designate specific facts demonstrating the existence of a genuine issue for trial. Id. The court must accept as true those facts alleged by the nonmoving party, construe the evidence in favor of the nonmovant, and resolve all doubts against the moving party. Shambaugh & Son, Inc. v. Carlisle, 763 N.E.2d 459, 461 (Ind.2002). For a defendant in a negligence action to prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the defendant must show that the undisputed material facts negate at least one of the elements essential to the negligence claim, or that the claim is barred by an affirmative defense. McClyde v. Archdiocese of Indianapolis, 752 N.E.2d 229, 232 (Ind.Ct.App.2001). On appeal, we will assess the trial court's decision to ensure that the parties were not improperly denied their day in court. Id. A genuine issue of material fact exists where facts concerning an issue that would dispose of the litigation are in dispute or where the undisputed material facts are capable of supporting conflicting inferences on such an issue. Cansler v. Mills, 765 N.E.2d 698, 701 (Ind.Ct.App.2002), trans.denied.

II. The Coffmans' Claims

The Coffmans contend that the trial court erroneously granted summary judgment as to all of the appellees. In essence, Coffmans' claims sound in products liability and the failure to warn. Appellants' App. p. 21-23. In particular, the Coffmans maintain that PSI owed a duty — and subsequently breached that duty — to Carl to insulate, mark, or otherwise warn of the uninsulated power line, that Rumpke should have warned Carl of the potential dangers of the new trailer and tarp and provided training relative to its use, that Refuse Handling breached a duty to Carl as a business invitee, and that Mountain Tarp's warnings were inadequate and that the company had negligently designed its system. Hence, the Coffmans assert that the negligence of the appellees was the proximate cause of Carl's injuries.

We note that summary judgment is generally inappropriate in negligence cases because issues of contributory negligence, causation, and reasonable care are more appropriately...