Denneau v. Indiana & Michigan Elec. Co., 1069A173

• Decision Date: 30 December 1971
• Docket Number: No. 2,No. 1069A173,1069A173,2
• Citation: 28 Ind.Dec. 579,150 Ind.App. 615,277 N.E.2d 8
• Parties: Ralph M. DENNEAU, Appellant, v. INDIANA & MICHIGAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, Appellee
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

Page 8

277 N.E.2d 8

150 Ind.App. 615

Ralph M. DENNEAU, Appellant, v. INDIANA & MICHIGAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, Appellee.

No. 1069A173.

Appellate Court of Indiana, Division No. 2.

Dec. 30, 1971.

Rehearing Denied Feb. 17, 1972.

Smith & Jones, Indianapolis, Gates, Gates & McNagny, Columbia City, for appellant.

Hunt, Suedhoff, Borror & Eilbacher, Fort Wayne, for appellee.

STATON, Judge.

Ralph M. Denneau is appealing from a jury verdict which found against him on his complaint for damages. He was rising in a 'bucket' connected to a boom used to clean street lighting fixtures when the 'bucket' struck a seventy-two hundred (7200) volt power line. Severe electrical burns covered most of his body. Ralph M. Denneau was an employee of the N. G. Gilbert Company. He filed an action for damages against Indiana and Michigan Electric Company.

N. G. Gilbert Company had a contract with Indiana and Michigan Electric Company which provided that N. G. Gilbert was to change light bulbs and clean globes on street lighting equipment in Ossian, Indiana. A truck equipped with a boom was used to raise the 'bucket' into the air and up to the street lighting equipment. Controls within the 'bucket' enabled Ralph M. Denneau to raise and lower the 'bucket' when in close proximity to the street lighting equipment. On May 21, 1965, Ralph M. Denneau was lifting himself in the 'bucket' up to a light fixture at pole No. 531 so that he could clean the globe. The 'bucket' came into contact with a seventy-two hundred (7200) volt power line. Ralph M. Denneau suffered severe burns over most of his body. He brought an action for damages against Indiana and Michigan Electric Company. The jury's verdict was for Indiana and Michigan Electric Company. Ralph M. Denneau appeals.

Ralph M. Denneau contends that the court erred in refusing to give his Instruction Number Five (5). His Instruction Number Five (5) was:

'With respect to the high voltage transmission line located near pole number 106--531, Indiana and Michigan Electric Company was under a duty to provide Ralph Denneau with a reasonably safe place in which to perform his work. If you find from a preponderance of the evidence that Indiana and Michigan Electric Company failed to provide Ralph Denneau with a reasonably safe place to work and if you further find that as a proximate result of this failure Ralph Denneau was injured then you are warranted in finding that Indiana and Michigan Electric Company was negligent.'

Ralph M. Denneau contends that this instruction would have placed before the jury the non-delegable duty of providing him with a safe place to work. To support this contention, the appellant relies on Stevens v. United Gas and Electric Co. (1905), 73 N.H. 159, 60 A. 848; Hoosier Cardinal Corp. v. Brizius (1964), 136 Ind.App. 363, 199 N.E.2d 481. In Stevens, supra, 60 A. at 853, the court stated:

'(T)he servant of the contractor must be deemed to be upon the premises of the proprietor by his invitation, express or implied; and therefore he owes him the same duty of guarding him against the consequences of hidden dangers on the premises that a proprietor would in any case owe to a guest, a customer, or other person coming by invitation upon his premises.'

Evidence was produced which would warrant the giving of an instruction conveying this principle of law. We find that Final Instruction Number Thirteen (13) substantially covers the general rule of law urged by Denneau and as stated in Stevens, supra, and in Hoosier Cardinal Corp., supra. Final Instruction Number Thirteen (13) is as follows:

'Where a public utility could have reasonably anticipated that an employee of a contractor of the public utility might come into contact with a dangerous instrumentality maintained by the public utility, and such contact is reasonably sure to inflict serious injury, the public utility should take whatever steps are reasonably necessary to prevent injury to any such employee who is likely to come into contact with the dangerous instrumentality.'

The court's Final Instruction Number Thirteen (13) is an exact copy of Ralph M. Denneau's Tendered Instruction Number Four (4). The trial court has no duty to repeat instructions with similar meanings. The error, if any, is harmless. Trent v. Rodgers (1952), 123 Ind.App. 139, 104 N.E.2d 759.

The second error urged by Ralph M. Denneau is the refusal to give his Tendered Instructions Numbers Six (6) and Eight (8). They are:

Instruction Number Six

'I instruct you that electricity is an iminently dangerous instrumentality which places upon a public utility dealing with it a nondelegable duty to see that reasonable means are taken to protect those who come in contact with it. By this I mean, that Indiana and Michigan Electric Company would be chargeable with any negligence on the part of the N. G. Gilbert Company in failing to employ and use suitable equipment in the operation of its business, in failing to properly instruct its new employees as to the dangers from electricity, or in failing to give warning to its employees of dangerous conditions known by it to exist.'

Instruction Number Eight

'I instruct you that Indiana & Michigan Electric Company was under a duty to Ralph M. Denneau to exercise reasonable care so as to avoid injury to Ralph M. Denneau. Indiana & Michigan Electric Company cannot escape or avoid this duty by delegating it to a third party.

Therefore, if you find from a preponderance of the evidence that Indiana & Michigan Electric Company delegated its duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid injury to Ralph M. Denneau to a third party, I instruct you that the delegation of this duty does not relieve Indiana & Michigan Electric Company from its responsibility of reasonable care to Ralph M. Denneau.'

Ralph M. Denneau complains in his brief that: 'By refusing to give either one of said instructions, the court literally took the 'heart' out of the appellant's case and practically directed a verdict against him.' We agree with this sentiment and assessment. We do not agree that the trial court's refusal of Instructions Numbers Six and Eight was error.

The English incipiency of the non-delegable duty doctrine has permeated many state jurisdictions within the United States. It has permeated the jurisdiction of Indiana. Bower v. Peate (1876), L.R.Q.B.D.; 18 A.L.R. 801; 31 A.L.R.2d 1379; 44 A.L.R. 932; 23 A.L.R. 1016; 23 A.L.R. 1084; Stewart v. Huff (1938), 105 Ind.App. 447, 14 N.E.2d 322; Looney v. Prest-O-Lite Co. (1917), 65 Ind.App. 617, 117 N.E. 678; Deep Vein Coal Co. v. Rainey (1916), 62 Ind.App. 608, 112 N.E. 392.

Indiana and Michigan Electric Company entered into a contract with N. G. Gilbert Company to change the light bulbs and clean the globes on street lights in Ossian, Indiana. The nondelegability of this work assignment depends upon two considerations. First, is it foreseeable from the very nature of the work that it will be inherently dangerous? Secondly, is it foreseeable from the very nature of the work to be performed that a high degree of danger and exposure to injury will be present even when reasonable precautionary measures are taken? We are not concerned with the non-delegable duty to provide a safe place to work as we were in our discussion of error one. Instrumentalities used in performing the work and the physical location of the work were considered then. Now, the nature of the work and the work to be performed are primary considerations. Looney v. Prest-O-Lite Co., supra; See also 23 A.L.R. 1085--1110. Ralph M. Denneau relies heavily upon Stewart v. Huff, supra, and Pierce v. United States, 142 F.Supp. 721 (Eastern Dist. Tenn.1955). There are five (5) exceptions to the general rule that a contractee is not liable to an independent contractor's servants for injuries:

(1) where the contract requires the performance of work intrinsically dangerous;

(2) where a party is by law or contract charged with the specific duty;

(3) where the act will create a nuisance;

(4) where the act to be performed will probably cause injury to others unless due precaution is taken to avoid harm;

(5) where the act to be performed is illegal.

Only exceptions one and four are to be considered in the following discussion. Ralph M. Denneau has conceded that these are the only two applicable exceptions.

Exception Number One: Is the nature of changing light bulbs and cleaning the globes on street lighting fixtures inherently dangerous? Our examination of the record reveals that even the evidence most favorable to the appellant, Ralph M. Denneau, reinforces the inference that if proper precautions were taken there would be little risk of injury. Therefore, evidence was not offered which would raise a reasonable inference that Ralph M. Denneau was engaged in an inherently dangerous pursuit of employment. See 23 A.L.R. 1085--1110.

Ralph M. Denneau's interpretation of exception Number Four is that the employer owes a non-delegable duty to the servants of the independent contractor if he has engaged the servant in work which will, in the natural course of events, produce injuries, unless proper precautions are taken. In support of this interpretation he relies on Pierce v. United States, supra. Exception Number Four (4) has one very important limitation to its application. The nature of the performance of the work assigned to the servant which has caused the injury must be foreseeable by the contractee at the time of making the contract. (Our emphasis.) Scott Construction Co. v. Cobb (1928), 86 Ind.App. 699, 707, 159 N.E. 763; See also 23 A.L.R. 1016.

Foreseeability is an essential element in exceptions one and four. This element is missing in both Instructions Numbers Six (6) and Eight (8). Therefore, these Instructions contain incorrect statements of the law. The trial court did not commit reversible error by refusing them. , $tThe third urged by Ralph M. Denneau is that the court erred in giving Indiana and Michigan Electric Company's...