In re Hartley, Bankruptcy No. 86-04817-2
| Decision Date | 24 June 1987 |
| Docket Number | Adv. No. 87-0059-3-2.,Bankruptcy No. 86-04817-2 |
| Citation | 75 BR 165 |
| Court | U.S. Bankruptcy Court — Western District of Missouri |
| Parties | In re James Lee HARTLEY, d/b/a Shade Tree Auto Parts & Tire Service, Debtor. Ricky D. JONES, Plaintiff, v. James HARTLEY, d/b/a Shade Tree Auto Parts and Tire Service, Defendant. |
Julia J. Borel, Kansas City, Mo., for plaintiff.
Keith P. Krueger, Kansas City, Mo., for defendant.
This adversary action under § 523 to determine dischargeability was brought by Ricky D. Jones, hereinafter plaintiff, against James Lee Hartley, hereinafter defendant. Plaintiff sought to have his claim for damages which is pending in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, against defendant and two other parties declared nondischargeable under § 523(a)(6) as a "willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another entity", i.e., the plaintiff.
Defendant had been a partner with one Robert G. Oldham in a business called "Shade Tree Auto Parts and Tire Service". That business was located in a shop at 12th & Jackson in Kansas City, Missouri. Plaintiff became an employee of that business in early October of 1985. Some ten days to two weeks after he began his employment, plaintiff was in the basement of the shop cleaning and painting used tires as directed by defendant. Plaintiff was using a solution of gasoline and tire black, supplied by the employer, to perform this operation. There were neither windows nor exhaust fans in the basement and the only ventilation came by means of the stairwell from the shop floor down to the basement.
After plaintiff had been down in the basement performing this task for an hour or so, defendant lit a firecracker and tossed it down the stairwell at the plaintiff. Defendant testified that he had no animus against the plaintiff, had tossed firecrackers at other employees over the years and had other employees toss firecrackers at him over the years. Defendant did admit that he himself had cleaned and painted used tires in the basement; knew of the resulting buildup of gasoline fumes in the basement attendant to such activity; knew the potential fire and explosive consequences of throwing a lighted firecracker into such an atmosphere; but meant only to startle or scare the plaintiff and characterized his act as "horseplay". Admittedly, the described events conjure up, to a macabre or weird sense of humor, a potentially amusing sequence, except that instead of frightening the plaintiff, defendant's "horseplay" severely injured plaintiff and thus substituted the masque of tragedy for the masque of humor.
After the explosion, plaintiff emerged from the basement with burns on 29% of his body. He was taken to the Kansas University Hospital Burn Center. Some $40,000.00 later, not to mention the pain and suffering endured, plaintiff was discharged with readily discernible scars to his face, neck and arms as well as other parts of his body. He filed suit against defendant, defendant's partner Oldham, and the landlord of the building. Shade Tree ceased business in February of 1986. Defendant filed his Chapter 7 bankruptcy on November 3, 1986. His estimated potential liability to plaintiff constituted 97% of his listed obligations. His secured debts total only $15,993.16 and his unsecured debts, other than the liability to plaintiff, total $14,655.00. He and his wife (who did not join him in bankruptcy) take home roughly $2,000.00 per month. All secured debts were reaffirmed. Obviously this bankruptcy was filed to eliminate the liability to plaintiff, and for no other purpose.
With that brief synopsis of the background, the Court now reaches the basic question: Is plaintiff's claim dischargeable? In considering that question the Court is highly cognizant of the extremely heavy burden that the Eighth Circuit has placed on proponents of § 523(a)(6) claims. See In re Long, 774 F.2d 875 (8th Cir.1985) and Cassidy v. Minihan, 794 F.2d 340 (8th Cir.1986). However, this Court is not at all sure that the interpretation urged by defendant's counsel is as broad as he proposes. It is defendant's contention that since there is no evidence indicating a deliberate intent to cause injury to the plaintiff, and defendant's acts were merely intended to "startle" or "surprise" or "scare" the plaintiff, the fact that plaintiff received serious injuries is merely regrettable not nondischargeable. Further that the consequences of any act of any bankrupt—however reckless or injurious—can be discharged unless actual intent to cause physical harm to the victim coupled with the deliberate doing of the act that causes injury can be adduced.
For reasons that will be discussed herein, the Court disagrees with defendant's contentions and conclusions. Defendant, of course, places heavy emphasis on In re Long, Ibid, and Cassidy v. Minihan, Ibid. Hopefully, a careful analysis of what those cases actually hold will be helpful. In Long the Eighth Circuit very thoroughly traced the requisites of a § 523(a)(6) claim to arrive at a guideline which this Court hopes it is following. That guideline is the Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 8A, Comment b, which establishes intentional harm (including the qualification that the expected harm must be "certain or substantially certain" to occur) as the bright line rule for definition of willful and malicious. As the 8th Circuit observes:
"While intentional harm may be very difficult to establish, the likelihood of harm in an objective sense may be considered in evaluating intent". l.c., pg. 881
Applying these guideposts to the instant facts what was the "likelihood of harm" in throwing a lighted firecracker into a confined, and almost unventilated area where gasoline fumes were known to be present? The answer is obvious and defendant admitted he knew of the possible consequences, the present dangers, and the potential hazards of his acts. His only excuse was that he did not intend for the gasoline to explode or burn the plaintiff. Such sanguine hopes and lack of appreciation for the almost inevitable results of his deliberate act cannot avoid the malicious requisite so displayed. If defendant is correct in his analysis then only if a tort is committed...
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