Ferrell v. Montgomery & Aldridge Sales Co., 671

Decision Date20 May 1964
Docket NumberNo. 671,671
Citation262 N.C. 76,136 S.E.2d 227
CourtNorth Carolina Supreme Court
PartiesMrs. Margaret Dowdy FERRELL, Widown, Faye Elizabeth Ferrell, Daughter, by her Next Friend, Eugene C. Brooks, III, Lewis E. Ferrell, Deceased, Employee, v. MONTGOMERY & ALDRIDGE SALES CO., Employer, Travelers Insurance Company, Carrier.

Brooks & Brooks, by Eugene C. Brooks, III, Durham, for plaintiffappellees.

Spears, Spears & Barnes, by Marshall T. Spears, Jr., Durham, for defendantappellants.

HIGGINS, Justice.

The evidence disclosed that Lewis E. Ferrell, on and prior to July 28, 1961, was service manager of the appliance and service department of Montgomery and Aldridge Sales Company--dealers in refrigerators, ranges, and other appliances.'He was approximately six feet tall and weighed about 180 to 190 pounds, and was a muscular man,' age 50 years.He had worked for the same employer for 17 years and had been out for health reasons 'from September 21 through October 19, 1959, for a back injury operation.'Thereafter he lost no time from work until his final attack on August 28, 1961.

Mr. Ferrell's duties required him to supervise the unloading from railroad cars and from trucks of shipments of 'refrigerators, ranges, laundry equipment, and home freezers.'Mr. J. T. Gray succeeded Mr. Ferrell as service manager.As a witness for claimants, he testified:

'Mr. Ferrell had the right to fully participate in the activity of unloading and as a matter of fact he did fully participate.He and I were at the warehouse during the time of unloading these ranges, refrigerators and other items.This was being done at the main building.* * * During my employment at Montgomery & Aldridge, I have observed him from day to day over that eight-year period.Among the jobs that came to the service department there would be required certain moving of appliances to one place or another around the building.Mr. Ferrell had the right to either participate in it or have someone else do it.He frequently engaged in the moving of things himself, by himself. * * *

'Most frequently appliances come into Durham in a railroad car, and we then have occasion to do as we were doing on July 28 and transfer the appliances by truck from the railroad car to our place of business or to our warehouse.I would say that we probably have a railroad car a month and in the winter months every other month, with some shipments in between.We also have other shipments which are less than a carload.All shipments ultimately have to be unloaded by us in our place of business.The appliances come crated.In unloading an appliance from a pickup truck, you slide it off one end on the ground.Mr. Ferrell and I might slide an appliance several inches across the bed of the pickup truck and then roll a hand truck under it and just walk off with it.It was propelled by the hand truck to the place where we wanted to put it.This was the type of thing that Mr. Ferrell was engaged in doing on the afternoon of July 28, but he wouldn't do freezers in that manner.

'This is also generally the method in which we unloaded appliances on those occasions prior to July 28, 1961.On those occasions Mr. Ferrell took part in it as he did on July 28. * * *

'During the course of the evening, (July 28) it being so warm, we had placed two or three chairs up by the big entrance door of the ramp and in between the arriving and leaving, we would sit there in an attempt to cool ourselves off.As we sat there, I noticed Mr. Ferrell was slumped over in his chair and I asked him if he was hurting in any way and he pointed to his chest, sort of tapped himself up there and said, 'McKee,' and I immediately left to go into the office to get to the telephone and call Dr. McKee and they referred me to an answering service and they didn't know where he was and I come back out and said, 'It is time to take him to the hospital,' and I took him and put him in the truck and took him to the...

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4 cases
  • Reynolds v. Continental Can Co.
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Delaware
    • February 14, 1968
    ...Mo.App., 356 S.W.2d 105 (1962); Cochran v. Bellevue Bridge Comm'n, 174 Neb. 761, 119 N.W.2d 292 (1963); Ferrell v. Montgomery & Aldridge Sales Co., 262 N.C. 76, 136 S.E.2d 227 (1964); Stewart v. Young, 112 Ohio App. 433, 176 N.E.2d 322 (1960); McGowan v. Upper Darby Pet Supply, 207 Pa.Super......
  • Jackson v. North Carolina State Highway Commission, 605
    • United States
    • North Carolina Supreme Court
    • February 2, 1968
    ...the usual course of employment are not compensable. Andrews v. County of Pitt, 269 N.C. 577, 153 S.E.2d 67; Ferrell v. Montgomery & Aldridge Sales Co., 262 N.C. 76, 136 S.E.2d 227; Bellamy v. Morace Stevedoring Co., 258 N.C. 327, 128 S.E.2d 395; Lewter v. Abercrombie Enterprises, Inc., 240 ......
  • King v. Exxon Co.
    • United States
    • North Carolina Court of Appeals
    • May 20, 1980
    ...Co., 35 N.C.App. 78, 80, 239 S.E.2d 847, 849, cert. denied 294 N.C. 736, 244 S.E.2d 154 (1978); see also Ferrell v. Montgomery & Aldridge Sales Co., 262 N.C. 76, 136 S.E.2d 227 (1964); Harding v. Thomas & Howard Co., 256 N.C. 427, 124 S.E.2d 109 Plaintiff assigns error to the Commission's s......
  • Andrews v. Pitt County, 115
    • United States
    • North Carolina Supreme Court
    • March 1, 1967
    ...Enterprises, Inc., 240 N.C. 399, 82 S.E.2d 410; Bellamy v. Stevedoring Co., 258 N.C. 327, 128 S.E.2d 395; Ferrell v. Montgomery & Aldridge Sales Co., 262 N.C. 76, 136 S.E.2d 227; Horn v. Protective Life Insurance Co., 265 N.C. 157, 143 S.E.2d The judgment entered in the Superior Court of Pi......

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