Milton Weaving Company v. Northumberland County Gas and Electric Company
| Decision Date | 04 October 1915 |
| Docket Number | 88 |
| Citation | 96 A. 135,251 Pa. 79 |
| Parties | Milton Weaving Company, Appellant, v. Northumberland County Gas and Electric Company |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Argued May 11, 1915
Appeal, No. 88, Jan. T., 1915, by plaintiff, from judgment of C.P. Northumberland Co., Feb. T., 1914, No. 236, on directed verdict for defendant, in case of Milton Weaving Company v Northumberland County Gas and Electric Company. Affirmed.
Trespass to recover damages for the destruction of plaintiff's mill. Before CUMMINGS, P.J.
The opinion of the Supreme Court states the facts.
Verdict for defendant by direction of the court and judgment thereon. Defendant appealed.
Errors assigned were rulings on evidence, and in directing a verdict for defendant.
The judgment is affirmed.
C. R Savidge, with him Wm. H. Hackenberg, for appellant.
Seth T. McCormick and J. Fred Schaffer, with them F. A. Witmer, for appellee.
Before BROWN, C.J., MESTREZAT, MOSCHZISKER and FRAZER, JJ.
Plaintiff owned and operated a weaving mill located in the Borough of Milton, and defendant furnished electric current for lighting plaintiff's property. On January 21, 1913, plaintiff's mill and contents were destroyed by fire, caused by a short circuit at the point where defendant's service wires passed through the outer wall of plaintiff's building to connect with a switch box and fuse box located inside the mill. Plaintiff's evidence tended to show that at the time of the fire the wires were attached to the building by glass insulators mounted on wooden brackets and entered the building through iron conduits, which were not fitted with porcelain tubing and one of which was without bushing at one end, to prevent the insulation on the wire from rubbing against the sharp edge of the pipe through which it passed. The conduits sloped inward instead of outward and the wires at the point where they entered the mill were without "drip loops" to prevent water from rain and snow entering the conduit and flowing into the building. As a result of such defective construction water entered the tubes or conduits, which contained wires with insulation not fitted to withstand moisture. This condition or the absence of proper insulation around the wires as they entered the conduit or the combination of both, caused a short circuit to be created, which set fire to the building and resulted in its destruction. In attempting to establish defendant's liability by showing that it put in place the defective wiring, plaintiff called its bookkeeper as its only witness on this point; the trial judge considered the testimony of this witness so indefinite and unreliable that he refused to permit the jury to pass upon it, and sustained defendant's motion for binding instructions. The case thus turned upon the question whether plaintiff or defendant was responsible for the wiring which entered the building. A brief examination of the evidence will show the trial judge committed no error in thus ruling.
That the work of wiring the building on the inside was done by an electrician employed by plaintiff is undisputed. This workman was called as a witness on behalf of defendant and testified to inserting the conduits and wires through the wall of the building from the inside to the outside and making them ready to be connected by the electric company. He further said the conduits were placed through the wall with a downward slant toward the outside and were lined with porcelain insulators. A witness in the employ of the predecessor in title of defendant, called by defendant, testified to connecting the company's service main lines with the ends of the wires which extended through the wall to the outside of the building but did no work in connection with the wiring on the inside. This testimony was corroborated by another witness who assisted plaintiff's electrician in wiring the building. The only contradictory evidence was the testimony of the bookkeeper of plaintiff who stated the wires were not extended through the wall by plaintiff's electrician but that this work was done by employees of the electric light company when connection was made with the service wires from the outside. This witness did not testify positively to facts within his knowledge but rather to conclusions based on his recollection that no charge was made for placing the conduit and wires through the wall of the mill in the bill for materials, which came through his hands as bookkeeper. His entire testimony on this point is vague and indefinite as well as contradictory. In his direct examination the witness said he saw employees of the electric company place in position the conduits and wires which extend through the wall but on cross-examination repeatedly said he was testifying to the best of his knowledge only and avoided making positive statements. After considerable evasion of the direct question whether he actually saw any person do this particular part of the work, he answered in the affirmative. On being further pressed, however, it appeared he merely saw the electric company's employees at work and concluded the connection inside of the building was made by them as he noticed no special charge for that work on the bill of their own contractor. The bill referred to by this witness was produced later and the item of charge for this work pointed out; he then admitted he saw no one actually do the work and that the electric light company's men worked entirely on the outside of the building. Such testimony is without force when opposed to the clear and positive statements of the men who actually did the work and the trial judge was right in refusing to permit the jury to pass upon it: Hyatt v. Johnston, 91 Pa. 196; Howard Express Company v. Wile, 64 Pa. 201.
It was argued on behalf of plaintiff, however, that even if the wires were constructed by plaintiff's workmen, defendant still owed the duty of inspection because the defect, which lay between the outside service wire and the meter which was under the direct control of defendant, although inside plaintiff's building, was readily discoverable by proper inspection.
Although there is conflict of authority on the question of extent of duty of electric companies in regard to the safety of appliances owned and maintained by its customers, the weight of authority in other jurisdictions supports the view that the company is not bound to inspect such appliances and is not generally liable for injuries or damages caused by reason of defect therein: 7 Thompson on Negligence, White's Supplement, Section 807; 1 Joyce Elec. Law, 2 Ed., Section 445; Curtis on Electricity, pages 417 and 492 and cases cited. The exact question appears to be without precedent...
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