Price v. Reeves Const. Co., 72896
| Decision Date | 12 November 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 72896,72896 |
| Parties | PRICE v. REEVES CONSTRUCTION COMPANY. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Hilliard P. Burt, Terry J. Marlowe, Albany, for appellant.
William A. Erwin, Albany, for appellee.
Appellant was driving her automobile on a bridge approach in Albany, Georgia, when she was struck head-on by a pick-up truck traveling in the opposite direction. After the two vehicles collided, a third vehicle ran into appellant's automobile, which then left the roadway and descended an embankment. Appellant suffered serious injuries and subsequently filed suit by her next friend against several parties, including appellee Reeves Construction Company, the contractor who had performed the grading for the roadway project. In her amended complaint, appellant asserted that the roadway on which she had been driving was extremely hazardous and imminently dangerous due to the excessively high fill and the steepness of the sides of the fill. Appellee filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. Appellant claims on appeal that there is a question of fact whether the bridge approach was so negligently defective as to be imminently dangerous to third persons. We disagree and affirm the judgment.
"[I]t is a well established general rule that, where the work of an independent contractor is completed, turned over to, and accepted by the owner, the contractor is not liable to third persons for damages or injuries subsequently suffered by reason of the condition of the work, even though he was negligent in carrying out the contract, at least, if the defect is not hidden but readily observable on reasonable inspection." PPG Indus. v. Genson, 135 Ga.App. 248(2), 217 S.E.2d 479 (1975). The case further states the exceptions to the general rule, including the one on which appellant relies, which holds the contractor liable when his work is so negligently defective as to be imminently dangerous to third persons.
In support of its motion for summary judgment, appellee showed that it contracted with the Georgia Department of Transportation to do only the grading and drainage of the bridge approach for the roadway project, that it had nothing to do with its design or paving, nor was it involved in any way with decisions regarding the placement of guardrails at the site. Appellee also showed that the completed grading and drainage work was accepted by D.O.T. Appellant...
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