Hann v. Darnell

• Decision Date: 12 November 1917
• Docket Number: 3112.
• Citation: 246 F. 943
• Parties: HANN v. DARNELL.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

246 F. 943

HANN v. DARNELL.

No. 3112.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

November 12, 1917

Rehearing Denied January 24, 1918.

The owner of a store in leased property held not liable for the death of an employee therein, who was killed by the falling of the wall of a burned building on adjoining property, on the ground of not furnishing a reasonably safe place to work.

Borden Burr and Augustus Benners, both of Birmingham, Ala., for plaintiff in error.

G. R Harsh, of Birmingham, Ala., for defendant in error.

Before WALKER and BATTS, Circuit Judges, and FOSTER, District Judge.

FOSTER District Judge.

In this case Mrs. Jimmie Sue Darnell, defendant in error, brought suit, as administratrix, against Charles Hann, plaintiff in error, to recover damages for the death of her husband George W. Darnell, alleged to have been caused by the negligence of Hann in not furnishing the deceased with a reasonably safe place to work. At the close of the evidence the defendant moved for a verdict in his favor, which was denied. The case went to the jury, and resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff. Error is assigned to the action of the court in denying the motion for the general charge.

The undisputed facts are these: Hann was the proprietor of a shoe store in Birmingham. He lived in Boston, visited Birmingham occasionally, and operated his store in Birmingham through Alexander McLeod, as manager. The building next to Hann's store in Birmingham burned, but there was left standing a wall, which extended two or three stories above the roof of his store. The debris was cleared out of the burned building and the wall was inspected by competent builders and left standing; the intention being to use it in the reconstruction of the building. Hann had no control over the burned building and no interest in it. The wall was separate from the wall of the building in which his store was located. He leased his store. After the fire McLeod called in the city building inspector, whose duty it was to investigate the safety of buildings in Birmingham, and who had the authority to order the wall demolished if he deemed it unsafe. That official inspected the wall and told McLeod that the wall was not cracked, that it was in good condition and standing plumb and straight, and later he told the clerks in Hann's store in order to allay any fears on their part, that the wall was all right. So far as appeared from the...