Cox v. Dick, 7614SC497

• Decision Date: 01 December 1976
• Docket Number: No. 7614SC497,7614SC497
• Parties: Glover B. COX v. McDonald DICK.
• Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals

Page 843

229 S.E.2d 843

31 N.C.App. 565

Glover B. COX v. McDonald DICK.

No. 7614SC497.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

Dec. 1, 1976.

Bryant, Bryant, Drew & Crill, P.A., by Victor S. Bryant, Jr., Durham, for plaintiff appellant.

Spears, Spears, Barnes, Baker & Boles, by J. Bruce Hoof; Haywood, Denny & Miller by George W. Miller, Jr., Durham, for defendant appellee.

VAUGHN, Judge.

The only assignment of error is that the court erred in allowing defendant's motion for directed verdict.

We must, therefore, consider the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff. When so considered, it tends to show the following: Plaintiff is engaged in roofing and gutter work. He solicited the job of cleaning defendant's gutters and a contract price of $14.00 was agreed upon. Plaintiff's ladder was too short and, instead of leaving the job to get a longer ladder, plaintiff accepted defendant's offer of the use of defendant's ladder. At defendant's suggestion plaintiff's helper went to work on a lower section of the roof and defendant, instead of the helper, was to hold the ladder for plaintiff. Plaintiff then proceeded to clean the gutters with defendant holding the ladder. The ladder was 32 feet long and extended about 2 feet above the gutter. Plaintiff's testimony as to what then happened is as follows:

'After we moved the ladder the second time, I went back up the ladder. Before I started up the ladder that time, Dr. Dick was standing on the lower side of the ladder and had one hand on it until I got above his head. After I got above his head, I turned and he was holding the ladder with both hands, a hand on each side. I then went on up the ladder and I cleaned out from my left to the gutters and there is a dormer coming out of the roof and it has got a valley on each side of the dormer and they were full of trash and I hollered down and told Dr. Dick I couldn't reach that and he said he would get me a stick and I could reach it with a stick. I came down the ladder and Dr. Dick got me a stick about 3 1/2 or 4 feet long. I took the stick and went back up the ladder. When I started up the ladder that time, Dr. Dick was on the lower side holding it with one hand and when I got up above his head, I turned around and looked and he had one hand on each side holding it, kind of leaning in on it to steady it, so I went on up the ladder. Once I got up the ladder, I went as far as I could on the ladder and I still couldn't reach all of the valleys with the stick, I lacked about a foot. At that time, Dr. Dick told me to go on up to the top of the ladder and to put one foot on the roof and I could reach it all. I told him all right, to hold the ladder and I went on up and put my right foot on the top rung of the ladder and I was holding my left hand on the ledge of the edge of the dormer roof that comes out just the roof and the sheathing under it, and I threw my left foot over on the roof. I was gripping the roof of the dormer with my fingers, but I couldn't get my hand around it, there was nothing to get around. I was gripping the roof with my left hand and the valley was right in front of me running catty-cornered up the roof. I took the stick in my right hand and once I had my left foot up on the roof and my right foot on the top rung of the ladder, I reached over...