Delbridge v. Maricopa County Community College Dist.
| Decision Date | 08 November 1994 |
| Docket Number | CA-CV |
| Citation | 182 Ariz. 55,893 P.2d 55 |
| Parties | , 99 Ed. Law Rep. 1092 Ronald DELBRIDGE, a single man, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MARICOPA COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT, a governmental entity, Defendant-Appellee. 193-0445. |
| Court | Arizona Court of Appeals |
The question in this appeal is whether the Maricopa County Community College District ("MCCCD") which offered a course providing specialized training available only to Salt River Project ("SRP") employees, owed a duty to exercise reasonable care for those employees. We hold that MCCCD owed a duty of care to the appellant, who was enrolled and injured in the class, to avoid exposing him to an unreasonable risk of harm. Accordingly, we reverse summary judgment in favor of MCCCD.
This is an appeal from summary judgment. Therefore, we view the facts and inferences in the light most favorable to the party against whom judgment was entered. Vega v. Griffiths Const., Inc., 172 Ariz. 46, 47, 833 P.2d 717, 718 (App.1992). 1
Rio Salado Community College ("Rio Salado") is a college within the MCCCD. Rio Salado does not have a permanent campus. Instead, the college holds its classes in rented facilities at locations such as office and industrial buildings, shopping malls, and high schools. A representative from Rio Salado inspects potential class sites to determine suitability. Rio Salado representatives usually do not have the expertise to know whether an industrial facility is safe, but, because the college generally uses facilities at large companies, it feels secure in relying on the safety standards of those businesses. In one instance, the college rejected a building as a class site because it was dirty and appeared unsafe for students.
Rio Salado offers courses created to meet the specific needs of an industry or of a particular company; these courses are not available to the general public. Typically, a company asks Rio Salado to design a college course for its in-house training. Rio Salado works with the company to develop a formal college course that meets the company's needs as well as the college's standards.
SRP contacted MCCCD regarding a training course for SRP's pre-apprentice linemen. SRP had been providing line construction training to its employees during the regular workday on an in-house basis. MCCCD, through Rio Salado, and SRP entered into an "Educational Service Agreement," in which they agreed that Rio Salado would "provide curriculum and instructional design with the advice and consent of PROGRAM [SRP's apprenticeship program], for selected individuals identified by PROGRAM." The agreement specifically provided that "[a]ll curriculum and instruction is under control of Rio [Salado]." SRP was to provide instructors who were certified by the State Board of Directors for Community Colleges of Arizona.
SRP required its pre-apprentice linemen to take two sixteen-week training classes offered through Rio Salado. SRP employees enrolled in these courses and paid tuition to SRP at the prevailing rate for MCCCD courses; SRP remitted the tuition payments to MCCCD. Rio Salado then paid SRP for the instructor's salary, facilities rental, and supplies. As Rio Salado students, the SRP pre-apprentice linemen were included in the count of the district's full-time student equivalent, the basis for MCCCD's state funding.
Appellant Ronald Delbridge ("Delbridge"), employed by SRP as a pre-apprentice lineman, enrolled in Rio Salado's Plant Mechanics course 2 at SRP's request. Delbridge paid tuition for the course and registered as a Rio Salado student. Plant Mechanics was held at SRP's skill training center, where SRP had designed and built a pole yard for linemen training classes. The class met after working hours, and although the students did not receive wages for time spent in class, SRP reimbursed them for the tuition upon completion of the course.
Paul L. Manganaro, an SRP employee, taught Plant Mechanics. In addition to his regular salary, SRP paid Manganaro $435 per credit hour for teaching this class, the amount MCCCD paid its part-time adjunct instructors. As required by MCCCD, Manganaro possessed an Arizona Community College Special Teaching Certificate issued by the Board of Directors for Community Colleges of Arizona. Rio Salado evaluated all of its adjunct instructors and could have terminated his contract with the college at will.
During class on February 12, 1991, Manganaro required Delbridge to free climb 3 a large diameter utility pole to a height of thirty feet. Manganaro required all of his students to free climb. 4 At approximately thirty feet above the ground, Delbridge lost his grip and fell. He was rendered paraplegic.
Delbridge filed a civil tort action against MCCCD, Rio Salado, and SRP. SRP is not a party to this appeal. 5 In his complaint, Delbridge alleged that MCCCD and Rio Salado owed him a duty to provide a reasonably safe class environment and to protect him from unreasonable risks of harm in class. MCCCD and Rio Salado moved for summary judgment, arguing that they did not owe a duty to Delbridge.
The trial court granted MCCCD's motion for summary judgment, concluding that "the arrangement between Rio Salado and the Plaintiff did not impose any duty on Rio Salado with respect to the technical training conducted by the Salt River Project."
Delbridge moved for a new trial and for relief from the summary judgment. Following the court's denial of these motions, Delbridge timely appealed from the judgment entered in favor of MCCCD and from the denial of his motion for new trial.
The issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred in concluding that MCCCD and Rio Salado did not owe a duty to Delbridge. The threshold question in a negligence action is whether the defendant had a legally recognizable duty to conform to a particular standard of conduct to protect the plaintiff from unreasonable risks of harm. Markowitz v. Arizona Parks Bd., 146 Ariz. 352, 354, 706 P.2d 364, 366 (1985). Duty arises out of the relationship between the parties and imposes a legal obligation on one party for the benefit of the other party. Alhambra Sch. Dist. v. Maricopa County Superior Court, 165 Ariz. 38, 41, 796 P.2d 470, 473 (1990). To determine whether a defendant had a duty to a plaintiff, a court must consider whether their relationship required the defendant to exercise care to prevent injury to the plaintiff. Lasley v. Shrake's Country Club Pharmacy, 179 Ariz. 583, 584-85, 880 P.2d 1129, 1131-34 (App.1994). The issue of whether a duty exists is usually for the court to decide as a matter of law. Markowitz, 146 Ariz. at 354, 706 P.2d at 366.
Delbridge argues that, because he was a student enrolled in a Rio Salado course, MCCCD and Rio Salado were obligated to ensure that the class content and instruction did not subject Delbridge to any unreasonable risks of harm.
By contrast, MCCCD asserts that there was no recognized legal relationship between Delbridge and either MCCCD or Rio Salado from which a duty flowed. MCCCD argues that there are only two bases for finding a duty in this case: (1) ownership or control of the premises and (2) custody of the student. MCCCD maintains that, because SRP owned the premises on which the class was held and Delbridge's injury occurred and because Delbridge was an adult and thus not subject to MCCCD's custody, neither MCCCD nor Rio Salado owed a duty to protect Delbridge. We disagree.
The teacher-student relationship is a special one, affording the student protection from unreasonable risks of harm. See Fedie v. Travelodge Int'l, Inc., 162 Ariz. 263, 265, 782 P.2d 739, 741 (App.1989). School districts, administrators, and teachers have a legal obligation for the benefit of the students enrolled in their classes. See Rogers v. Retrum, 170 Ariz. 399, 401, 825 P.2d 20, 22 (App.1991). "This obligation includes the duty not to subject those students, through acts, omissions, or school policy, to a foreseeable and unreasonable risk of harm." Id.; see also Jesik v. Maricopa County Community College Dist., 125 Ariz. 543, 546, 611 P.2d 547, 550 (1980) (); Chavez v. Tolleson Elementary Sch. Dist., 122 Ariz. 472, 476, 595 P.2d 1017, 1021 (App.1979) (). Therefore, MCCCD and Rio Salado had a duty to protect students like Delbridge from unreasonable risks of harm.
Here, Delbridge clearly was a Rio Salado student at the time and place of his injury. He registered with Rio Salado for the class, paid the amount of tuition paid by other Rio Salado students, received grade reports from Rio Salado, and attended class after work. Although SRP specified and primarily developed the course content, a MCCCD curriculum designer assisted in course development and ensured that the course contained the elements necessary for college credit. MCCCD approved the course and the instructor. Further, Rio Salado assigned the course a name and number within its system.
Additionally, MCCCD assumed primary control over the classroom through its contractual relationship with SRP. While SRP actually possessed considerable control over Plant Mechanics, the written agreement between MCCCD and SRP specified that all curriculum and instruction were under Rio Salado's control. Rio Salado also evaluated Manganaro and could have terminated him as an...
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