Davis v. Black Hills Trucking, Inc., 95-287
| Citation | 929 P.2d 532 |
| Decision Date | 20 December 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-287,95-287 |
| Parties | Brigitte DAVIS, acting as the Personal Representative of the Estate of John Evan Jones, deceased, and on behalf of Andrew Evan Jones and Merranda Deann Jones, Minors, by and through Brigitte Davis, their natural mother and Guardian ad Litem; and on behalf of Roger Jones, Joann Jones, Earl Joe Jones and Justin Andrew Jones, Appellants (Plaintiffs), v. BLACK HILLS TRUCKING, INC., a Wyoming Corporation, Appellee (Defendant). |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Wyoming |
Walter Urbigkit of Frontier Law Center, Cheyenne, for Appellants.
Richard E. Day of Williams, Porter, Day & Neville, P.C., Casper; and Manuel Lojo of Black Hills Trucking, Inc., Casper, for Appellee.
Before TAYLOR, C.J., and THOMAS, MACY, GOLDEN, * and LEHMAN, JJ.
Appellant, the personal representative for the family of John Jones, appeals the grant of summary judgment in favor of appellee, Black Hills Trucking, Inc. (Black Hills). Appellant claimed Black Hills negligently disassembled, delivered and reassembled a drilling rig, thus proximately causing the accidental death of Mr. Jones. The district court granted summary judgment finding that Black Hills owed no duty to Mr. Jones. The district court further found that appellant failed to establish the element of proximate causation. We affirm the district court's conclusion that no duty existed, and therefore do not reach the issue of causation.
Appellant articulates the issues as follows:
I.A Did the District Court err in granting Summary Judgment for Defendant Trucking Company which contracted to tear down, move and rig up a drilling rig, finding that it owed no duty to the drilling company employee who died when a piece of the flooring gave way which had been assembled by the trucking company employees using the trucking company's crane to place the piece of floor in such a manner that it could not be bolted down?
I.B Did the District Court err in granting Summary Judgment holding that the intervening negligence of the drilling company's employees in not bolting down the floor plate after it was discovered was unforeseeable so as to absolve the trucking company which created the condition from the effects of its negligence?
Black Hills presents the following issues:
1. Did the District Court err in finding that Appellants failed to establish that Black Hills had a duty to bolt the drawworks floor plate securely to the rig structure or to insure that the drawworks floor plate had been securely bolted to the rig structure?
In the event this Court should find that Black Hills had such a duty and breached that duty, then the next issue presented for review is:
2. Assuming Black Hills had a duty to secure the drawworks floor into place or to insure that it was done and that it breached that duty, was that breach the proximate cause of the accident in light of the intervening negligence of the drilling company's employees in not bolting down the drawworks floor plate after that situation had been discovered?
The operative facts are undisputed. Between November 1 and 6, 1991, approximately three weeks before the accident, True Drilling Company (True Drilling) engaged Black Hills to rig-down Rig No. 23, move the rig five miles, and rig-up at a new location. The procedure entailed the cooperative effort of True Drilling employees and Black Hills employees. True Drilling employees were responsible for preparing the rig for transport, including unbolting the large pieces of the rig. Black Hills supplied cranes, trucks and equipment operators. A Black Hills employee directed the crane operators while True Drilling employees attached the pieces of the rig to the crane and loaded the trucks for transport. Upon arriving at the new site, the duties of the employees remained the same, but the process was reversed.
Shortly after the rig became operational, two of True Drilling's employees discovered that a floor plate, which had been bolted down at the previous location, was not secured when Rig No. 23 was reassembled. When the employees attempted to replace the bolts, they found that the holes in the floor plate were not aligned with the bolt holes on the supporting structure. Due to the weight of the floor plate, they were unable to move it so that the holes were in alignment. They took no further action at that time.
On November 29, 1991, John Jones fell to his death while working on Rig No. 23. Although no one witnessed the accident, an investigation indicated that the unsecured floor plate on the rig slid back and tilted open, allowing Mr. Jones to fall through the opening. After the investigation of the accident was completed, True Drilling employees belatedly bolted the floor plate in place.
Appellant, as personal representative for the Jones family, filed a wrongful death claim against Black Hills. On November 4, 1992, the district court granted appellant's motion to amend the complaint to add Tony Russell, the True Drilling toolpusher, as a defendant. The claims against Mr. Russell were dismissed on August 24, 1993.
Black Hills filed a motion for summary judgment which the district court granted on October 12, 1995. The district court found that the evidence failed to establish that Black Hills had a duty to bolt down the floor plate or inspect the rig to ensure that the pieces were properly secured. The district court separately found that the element of proximate cause was not established. On appeal, we do not reach the district court's second finding, as appellant failed to establish a duty.
As we have often stated, summary judgment is appropriate only when no genuine issue as to any material fact exists and the prevailing party is...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Andersen v. Two Dot Ranch, Inc., 00-67.
...658 P.2d 1284, 1287 (Wyo.1983). If no duty is established, there is no actionable claim of negligence. Davis v. Black Hills Trucking, Inc., 929 P.2d 532, 534 (Wyo.1996). [¶ 12] The district court concluded there was no duty because the accident occurred in an open range4 area. The plaintiff......
-
Borns ex rel. Gannon v. Voss
...WY 105, ¶ 44, 49 P.3d at 1024 (quoting Gates, 719 P.2d at 195). Whether a duty exists is a question of law. Davis v. Black Hills Trucking, Inc., 929 P.2d 532, 534 (Wyo.1996). A duty may arise by contract, statute, common law, "or when the relationship of the parties is such that the law imp......
-
Hermreck v. United Parcel Service, Inc.
...genuine issues as to any material fact, and the prevailing party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Davis v. Black Hills Trucking, Inc., 929 P.2d 532, 533-534 (Wyo.1996); Woodard v. Cook Ford Sales, Inc., 927 P.2d 1168, 1169 (Wyo.1996); Fowler v. Westair Enterprises, Inc., 906 P.2d......
-
Board of County Com'rs v. Geringer, 96-1
...a summary judgment without according any deference to the decision of the district court on questions of law. Davis v. Black Hills Trucking, Inc., 929 P.2d 532, 534 (Wyo.1996); Duncan v. Town of Jackson, 903 P.2d 548, 551 (Wyo.1995). The parties have essentially argued the case under the co......