Square D Co. v. Hayson
| Citation | 621 So.2d 1373 |
| Decision Date | 02 July 1993 |
| Docket Number | 92-1457,Nos. 91-3805,s. 91-3805 |
| Parties | 18 Fla. L. Weekly D1532, Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 13,697 SQUARE D COMPANY, a Delaware Corporation, Appellant, v. George W. HAYSON and Louise Hayson, Appellees. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
Julius F. Parker, Jr. of Parker, Skelding, Labasky & Corry, Tallahassee, Bruce M. Allman and Laurie J. Nicholson of Thompson, Hine and Flory, Dayton, Ohio, for appellant.
Robert L. Hinkle of Aurell, Radey, Hinkle, Thomas & Beranek, Tallahassee; C. David Fonvielle of Fonvielle & Hinkle, Tallahassee, for appellees.
In this consolidated appeal, Square D seeks reversal of a final judgment awarding damages to the Haysons in their products liability suit. Square D also seeks reversal of the trial court's order denying Square D's motion for post-verdict juror interviews. We agree with the trial court that the facts alleged in Square D's motion failed to state legally sufficient reasons to interview the jurors, and we affirm without further comment the appeal in Case No. 92-1457. Baptist Hospital of Miami, Inc. v. Maler, 579 So.2d 97 (Fla.1991); Raybun and Partners v. Ashoka Enterprises, 604 So.2d 1284 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992); Orange County v. Piper, 585 So.2d 1182 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991); and Phares v. Froehlich, 582 So.2d 683 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). After a thorough review of the facts and applicable law, we likewise affirm the judgment for the Haysons finding that the court properly submitted the negligence issues to the jury.
Square D is a large electrical equipment manufacturing company. Lewis & Thompson, an electrical contractor and George Hayson's employer, was engaged to do the electrical work on the Florida lottery building. In furtherance of this project, Lewis & Thompson purchased from Square D, through a distributor, an end tap box, busway and fusible disconnect switches, among other things.
The end tap box is a rectangular box roughly equivalent in size to two large suitcases stacked flat, one on top of the other. The busway is a combination of sections, each up to 10 feet tall and weighing 250 pounds. Each fusible disconnect switch is designed to be mounted on factory-cut notches located on the busway. In the lottery building, these busway sections were connected on top of each other to form a 48-foot tall structure. The combined 48-foot busway was mounted to the top of the end tap box and ran vertically through all four floors.
The busway system, properly installed, is designed to distribute electricity throughout the building. In operation, the end tap box takes electricity from a source and conveys it to the busway. The busway in turn makes electricity available on each floor of the building. Access to the electricity conveyed by the busway is available by mounting one or more fusible disconnect switches to the busway on each floor. A transformer is wired to the disconnect switch, making usable electricity available on each floor.
The busway manufactured by Square D is designed for use either vertically or horizontally. In the lottery building, the busway was installed vertically. On each segment of the busway appears the word "TOP," which indicates which side of the busway must be on top when the busway is installed horizontally. When the busway is installed vertically, it is mandatory that the word "TOP" be placed on the right side of the busway, a requirement which, it will be seen, could produce disastrous consequences if overlooked. The installation instructions for the busway contain the caveat that when the busway is mounted vertically, it must be positioned so that the "TOP" marking is to the right, and the neutral position is to the left. If placed so that the word "TOP" is on the left, the busway is backwards and dangerous when charged with electric current. While the installation instructions contain the caveat about proper alignment of the busway when placed vertically, there is no instruction or marking on the busway itself warning the installer that the word "TOP" should be on the right, and there is no indication on the equipment itself, either on the end tap box or busway, advising the installer of the proper orientation. Of further importance is the fact that the installation instructions were not shipped with the end tap box or busway, and no instructions shipped with these pieces contain the above-mentioned caveat. Square D did provide these installation instructions or "shop drawings" to Lewis & Thompson, but they were apparently in a trailer on the job site. 1
When the busway is properly installed vertically--with the label "TOP" on the right--the fusible disconnect switch can be mounted right side up on the busway. Mounted right side up, the fusible disconnect switch works as intended. When the busway is installed backwards (as occurred in this case), with the label "TOP" on the left, the fusible disconnect switch will fit on the front of the busway upside down. There is no label on the 100-amp fusible disconnect switch indicating which orientation is upside down and which is right side up, or the proper orientation of the busway.
When the 100-amp fusible disconnect switch is installed upside down--the only way in which it can be installed on the front of a backwards-installed busway--an extremely dangerous condition results. In this orientation, the "neutral" position on the switch is not neutral, but is instead "hot," carrying 277 volts of electricity. When the switch is turned off--which should make it safe to work in the box--the "neutral" position remains electrically charged.
In the process of installing the electrical equipment in the lottery building, unidentified Lewis & Thompson employees improperly connected the busway riser to the end tap box so that the word "TOP" was on the left, instead of the right. On the basement floor of the building another worker, also unidentified, installed the 100-amp fusible disconnect switch upside down--which was the only way it could be mounted on the backwards busway.
On December 30, 1987, George Hayson was asked to work on the fusible disconnect switch on the basement floor. He noticed that something seemed wrong with the switch because the load and line sides were swapped. He turned the switch off and checked the switch phases for the presence of current and found none. He did not check the neutral, however, which he assumed to be, but which was not, uncharged. 2 When Hayson began to wire the neutral, using a metal wrench, an electric arc formed and electricity passed through Hayson's arm and out his back. As a result, Hayson suffered injury to his arm and subsequent brain damage. Although he returned to work for Lewis & Thompson, his return to employment was temporary. Shortly thereafter, he left his employment and has not been able to hold steady employment since.
A week after Hayson's accident, a Square D representative inspected the work site where Hayson was injured. He discovered that on two floors above where Hayson had been working, Square D's equipment had been modified. New notches had been cut on the busway riser to allow the disconnect switches to be installed right side up rather than upside down. In this orientation, the neutral position was neutral and the switch worked properly. 3
It is not clear from the evidence whether these modifications at the other floor levels were done before or after Hayson's accident. It is clear, however, that these notches were cut only in the sections of the busway on the building's third and fourth levels, and not on the floor where Hayson was working. Hayson testified without contradiction that he had no knowledge of the modification of the busway sections on the third and fourth levels. No modification had been made to the end tap box or the busway section on the floor where Hayson was working and was injured. Also, the disconnect switch had not been modified. Although there was no ground stab on the switch when he was working on it, the missing ground stab would not have prevented mounting the switch exactly as it was mounted. Further, the evidence established that the modifications on the third and fourth floor levels simply permitted power to be drawn through the switches on those levels, and these modifications did not cause or contribute to the conditions which resulted in Hayson's accident.
The Haysons' complaint against Square D initially sought recovery on theories of strict liability and negligence. Later, the strict liability count was voluntarily dismissed. At the trial, the Haysons called witnesses including a mechanical engineer, who was permitted to testify over objection that the busway system was negligently designed and was defective. Regarding the absence of warning labels on the equipment, there was evidence of the ease of labeling, and that General Electric, a competing manufacturer, has already adopted such labeling. There was also evidence that the end tap box and busway could be designed in a manner or "keyed" so that the products could fit together only in the proper orientation. This is already being done by two other Square D competitors--Siemens I.T.E. and Westinghouse. The Haysons' expert electrical engineer testified that labeling the busway in a manner showing the proper orientation for horizontal installation only, with no labeling showing the proper orientation for vertical installation, did not meet reasonable electrical engineering standards.
The trial court denied Square D's motions for directed verdict and submitted the case to the jury on the Haysons' claim for negligence. The court gave the Florida Standard Jury Instructions for negligence. Square D requested two additional instructions on modification and deliberate misuse of a product. The Haysons contended below and contend on appeal, that Square D's proposed instructions were wrong and the trial court correctly refused to give the requested instructions. We agree. Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. McKenzie, ...
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Renewed look at the duty to warn and affirmative defenses.
...Cir. 1974). (98.) Duane, 833 P.2d at 287; Younger v. Dow Coming Corp., 451 P.2d 177, 184 (Kan. 1969). But see Square D Co. v. Hayson, 621 So.2d 1373, 1377-78 (Fla.App. 1993) (warning to employer alone insufficient). (99.) 586 N.E.2d 861 (Ind.App. 1992). (100.) Traylor v. Husqvarna Motor, 98......
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The duty to warn - a matter of reasonableness, not arbitrariness.
...Florida has expressly adopted [sections] 388, Sowell v. American Cyanamid Co., 888 F. 2d 802 (11th Cir. 1989); Square D Co. v. Hayson, 621 So. 2d 1373 (Fla. 1st DCA Analysis of the duty to warn required under [sections] 388 becomes more complex when a product is supplied to or purchased by ......