Knight v. Alabama Power Co.
| Decision Date | 11 April 1991 |
| Citation | 580 So.2d 576 |
| Parties | Joe Hardy KNIGHT v. ALABAMA POWER COMPANY. 1900285. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
C. Knox McLaney III, Montgomery, for appellant.
Sterling G. Culpepper, Jr. and John S. Bowman, Jr., Montgomery, for appellee.
Joe Hardy Knight sued Alabama Power Company, alleging that Alabama Power was negligent in the location of a transmission wire and that its alleged negligence resulted in injury to Knight. Alabama Power raised, among other things, the defense of contributory negligence. Thereafter, Alabama Power filed a motion for summary judgment. At the hearing on Alabama Power's motion, Knight filed an amended response to the motion, asking the trial court to adopt the doctrine of comparative negligence. The trial court granted Alabama Power's motion for summary judgment and denied Knight's motion to adopt the doctrine of comparative negligence. Knight appeals. We affirm.
Summary judgment was proper in this case if there was no genuine issue of material fact and Alabama Power was entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Rule 56, A.R.Civ.P. The burden was on Alabama Power to make a prima facie showing that no genuine issue of material fact existed and that it was entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. If that showing was made, then the burden shifted to Knight to present evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact, so as to avoid the entry of a judgment against him. See, Stafford v. Mississippi Valley Title Insurance Co., 569 So.2d 720 (Ala.1990); see, also, DuPont v. Yellow Cab Co. of Birmingham, Inc., 565 So.2d 190 (Ala.1990). In determining whether there was a genuine issue of material fact, we must view the evidence in a light most favorable to Knight and must resolve all reasonable doubts against Alabama Power. Because this case was filed after June 11, 1987, the applicable standard of review is the "substantial evidence" rule. Ala.Code 1975, § 12-21-12. "Substantial evidence" has been defined as "evidence of such weight and quality that fair-minded persons in the exercise of impartial judgment can reasonably infer the existence of the fact sought to be proved." West v. Founders Life Assurance Co. of Florida, 547 So.2d 870, 871 (Ala.1989).
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Knight, as we are required to do under the applicable standard of review, we find the following:
Knight was an electrician by trade and had been so employed for approximately 8-10 years at the time of the accident. His work as an electrician involved control work, computer work, and running conduit. Knight was familiar with Alabama Power's transmission line located behind his residence and approximately two feet from his property line. According to his deposition testimony, Knight assumed the line was in use and that electricity was flowing through the line; however, because the line appeared to Knight to be black, he assumed that the line was insulated. As an electrician, Knight was familiar with the National Electrical Safety Code, which provides that trees interfering with supply conductors are to be trimmed or removed and that when that is not possible, the tree should be separated from the conductor in order to avoid grounding through the tree. Knight had purchased and installed a swimming pool for his children. However, the shade from a tree located on Knight's property prevented the sun from sufficiently warming the water in the pool. Thus, Knight's wife called Alabama Power and requested that it trim the limbs. Alabama Power refused, stating that it worked on a set trimming program of five to seven years and that it was not time to trim in that area. Thereafter, Knight, who previously had trimmed low limbs from the tree, borrowed tree climbing spikes, a lineman's belt, and a chainsaw from his employer. Then, around 10 o'clock on the morning of the accident, a day when the sun was shining and there was no wind, Knight climbed the tree and proceeded to cut limbs. He cut three or four limbs without incident. He then observed the line from a distance, and because the line had no background to enable one to judge its distance and because Knight thought that there was sufficient clearance, he began to cut a limb that grew upwards. While he was cutting the limb, the limb came into contact with the line; electric current travelled through the limb and caused Knight to suffer second and third degree electrical burns to the back of both of his legs.
The sole issue for our review is whether the trial court erred in holding that Knight was contributorily negligent as a matter of law.
The law is well settled concerning a power company's duty to...
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