Hodgdon v. Stockwell
| Citation | 417 A.2d 931,138 Vt. 473 |
| Decision Date | 16 June 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 244-79,244-79 |
| Parties | David S. HODGDON, Sr. v. Earl STOCKWELL. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Vermont |
Donald Arbitblit of Langrock, Sperry, Parker & Stahl, Middlebury, for plaintiff.
McCarty & Rifkin, Brattleboro, for defendant.
Before BARNEY, C. J., and DALEY, LARROW, BILLINGS and HILL, JJ.
This is an appeal from a judgment entered upon a defendant's verdict in a civil action for negligence. Plaintiff's complaint alleged that at the time of the accident he was working for defendant at his paper mill. The complaint then set out eight numbered paragraphs, each specifically related to a claim that defendant negligently allowed plaintiff to work around and with a forklift which, because of its defective condition, rolled onto plaintiff, causing the injuries alleged.
In the course of trial, plaintiff testified that he had been welding at the time of the accident, and he then attempted to qualify a witness as an expert on welding safety procedures, with the purpose of showing that it was customary in the industry for one person to act as a "fire watch" around welders. According to plaintiff's offer of proof, because welders are virtually blinded by their welding helmet and face shield, the fire watch is used to look both for fires and for other hazards around the welder. Defendant objected to admission of this line of evidence on the grounds of immateriality and irrelevancy, and claimed surprise because nothing in the pleadings gave notice of this issue. The court ruled the evidence inadmissible. Plaintiff appeals, claiming that this ruling constitutes prejudicial error. We disagree, and affirm.
Under the Rules of Civil Procedure, the complaint shall contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." V.R.C.P. 8(a). No technical forms of pleading are required, V.R.C.P. 8(e)(1); the purpose of the complaint is to put the defendant on fair notice of the claim against him, see Sheltra v. Smith, 136 Vt. 472, 476, 392 A.2d 431, 433 (1978).
In this case, however, the complaint repeatedly and unequivocally alleges a claim based on negligently allowing a defective forklift to be used around the work place. Failure to provide a fire watch, or failure to take safety precautions generally, are simply not mentioned. This complaint does not put the defendant on notice that failure to provide a fire watch is part of the case, and therefore it is not part of the case. ...
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Desrochers v. Perrault, 85-091
...only when an issue not raised by the pleadings has been tried by express or implied consent of the parties. Hodgdon v. Stockwell, 138 Vt. 473, 474, 417 A.2d 931, 932 (1980); V.R.C.P. 15(b). Here, plaintiff objected to defendants' single attempt to introduce evidence of fraud. Thereafter, no......
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Cameron v. Burke, 88-241
...in her brief, "the purpose of the complaint is to put the defendant on fair notice of the claim against [her]." Hodgdon v. Stockwell, 138 Vt. 473, 474, 417 A.2d 931, 931 (1980). In Hodgdon, we affirmed the trial court's decision to exclude trial testimony concerning the defendant's failure ......
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