Stephenson v. Pacific Power & Light Co.
| Decision Date | 01 September 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-264,88-264 |
| Citation | 779 P.2d 1169 |
| Parties | Vernon L. STEPHENSON, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. PACIFIC POWER & LIGHT COMPANY aka PacifiCorp, a Maine Corporation; Rand Haapapuro; Weldon Dunn aka Okie Rowe; Leonard Gradert; and Danny Foster, Appellees (Defendants). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Donald P. White and Wesley A. Roberts of White, White & Keenan, P.C., Riverton, for appellant.
Richard E. Day and Richard L. Williams of Williams, Porter, Day & Neville, P.C., Casper, for appellees Pacific Power & Light Co. and Weldon Dunn.
Ward A. White of Guy, Williams, White & Argeris, Cheyenne, for appellees Rand Haapapuro, Leonard Gradert and Danny Foster.
Before CARDINE, C.J., THOMAS, URBIGKIT, and MACY, JJ., and RAPER, J. (Ret.).
Appellant Vernon Stephenson was injured in an industrial accident. He brought suit against several co-employees alleging culpable negligence and against the property owner and one of its employees alleging negligence. The district court granted summary judgment to all defendants.
We affirm in part and reverse in part.
Appellant articulates the following issues:
I. Did the district court err in granting summary judgment for Combustion Engineering co-employees when there existed genuine issues of material fact as to their culpable negligence?
II. Did the district court err in granting summary judgment for Pacific Power & Light and Weldon Dunn a/k/a Okie Rowe when there existed genuine issues of material fact as to their direct liability and/or vicarious liability?
III. Did the district court err in ruling that appellant's conduct precluded recovery against any of the defendants?
We will also address the related issue presented by appellees Pacific Power & Light Company and Weldon Dunn as to whether the district court correctly determined that the actions or inactions of those appellees were not the proximate cause of appellant's injury as a matter of law.
On April 25, 1985, appellant was seriously injured when he fell from a scaffolding upon which he was working at the Jim Bridger Power Plant in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. At the time of the accident, appellant was employed by Combustion Engineering Inc. which had contracted with appellee Pacific Power & Light Company (PP & L), the owner of the plant, to provide certain engineering and maintenance services at the plant.
By initial complaint dated April 2, 1987, and three amendments thereto, appellant brought a personal injury action against Combustion Engineering co-employees Rand Haapapuro, Norm Aisenbrey, Leonard Gradert, and Danny Foster; against PP & L and PP & L employee Weldon Dunn, aka Okie Rowe; and against various John Doe defendants. 1 With respect to PP & L and Weldon Dunn, appellant essentially After the defendants answered and discovery was conducted, each defendant moved for summary judgment. 2 Memoranda, depositions, and other documentary materials were filed in support of and against the motions for summary judgment. 3 By decision letter and order, the district court granted summary judgment to all defendants. The district court determined that, while the co-employee defendants may have been negligent, there was no evidence that they had engaged in willful or wanton misconduct or that they had possessed a state of mind approaching an intent to do harm and, therefore, they were entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law on appellant's claims of culpable negligence. The basis of the grant of summary judgment to PP & L and Weldon Dunn is less clear, but it appears the district court determined, with respect to the claims against all defendants, that appellant was precluded from recovery by contributory negligence, assumption of the risk, and the obvious danger rule. Additionally, the district court's decision letter can be read as determining that the actions of the defendants were not the proximate cause of appellant's injury as a matter of law.
alleged that they owed a duty to appellant as an invitee to maintain the building where the accident occurred in a safe condition and that, by failing to flag or barricade the doorway where the scaffolding was located, they breached that duty resulting in appellant's injury. Appellant alleged, with respect to the co-employee defendants, that they failed to respond to repeated complaints and requests to have the doorway flagged or barricaded and that such failure amounted to culpable negligence which resulted in appellant's injury.
On appeal from a grant of summary judgment, we review the judgment in the same light as the district court, using the same materials and following the same standards. Johnston v. Conoco, Inc., 758 P.2d 566 (Wyo.1988); Jones v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., 718 P.2d 890 (Wyo.1986). The party moving for summary judgment has the burden of demonstrating that no genuine issues of material fact exist and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Johnston, 758 P.2d 566; Farr v. Link, 746 P.2d 431 (Wyo.1987). We have defined a material fact as one which, if proved, would have the effect of establishing or refuting an essential element of the claim or defense asserted by the parties. Johnston, 758 P.2d 566; Parker v. Haller, 751 P.2d 372 (Wyo.1988). We review the record from the vantage point most favorable to the nonmoving party, giving that party the benefit of every favorable inference which may be drawn from the facts in the materials submitted in the record. Jones, 718
P.2d 890; Noonan v. Texaco, Inc., 713 P.2d 160 (Wyo.1986). Even if the evidence in the case is not significantly in dispute, if that evidence is subject to differing interpretations or if reasonable minds might disagree as to its significance, summary judgment is not proper. Fegler v. Brodie, 574 P.2d 751 (Wyo.1978); 10A C. Wright, A. Miller & M. Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil 2d § 2725 at 106-09 (1983).
With the above standards in mind, we examine the evidence in the record upon which the summary judgment was premised. Most of the following facts are gathered from the depositions of appellant, Danny Foster, and Bill Huebner. Appellant, an experienced ironworker, was hired by Combustion Engineering on April 22, 1985, for work at the Jim Bridger Power Plant. Appellee PP & L, the owner of the plant, had previously entered into a contract with Combustion Engineering by which Combustion Engineering was to perform various technical and engineering services, furnish labor therefor, and perform specified work at the plant. Appellees Rand Haapapuro, Leonard Gradert, and Danny Foster were employees of Combustion Engineering as were Norm Aisenbrey 4 and Bill Huebner. Appellee Weldon Dunn, aka Okie Rowe, was a shop foreman for PP & L at the PSI Building where the accident occurred.
Upon reporting to work at the plant on Monday, April 22, 1985, appellant first met with Rand Haapapuro who briefly instructed appellant regarding safety. Rand Haapapuro was introduced to appellant as a safety engineer. Thereafter, appellant was introduced to his immediate supervisor, Danny Foster, to Foster's supervisor, Leonard Gradert, and to an unidentified PP & L engineer. 5 Appellant was then informed of his job assignment, which was that he and Bill Huebner were to install a new overhead door at the PSI Building. The PSI Building was a shop in which PP & L, among other things, serviced vehicles used at the plant. The PP & L engineer and appellant went over the shop drawings (i.e., plans/blueprints) which the engineer had prepared regarding the installation of the new door.
Later that day, appellant and Bill Huebner erected a scaffolding inside the door opening and commenced work on the installation of the new door. This door opening was the only vehicle access to the building. The working platform on the scaffolding was approximately fifteen to seventeen feet above the shop floor. An access ladder was built into the scaffolding. The scaffolding was on rollers so that it could be moved, and it had a brake to lock it into place. Some of the equipment used on the job by appellant and Bill Huebner belonged to PP & L, including a cherry picker, a forklift, and perhaps the scaffolding.
Upon commencing work on the scaffolding, appellant and Bill Huebner immediately encountered problems with PP & L vehicle traffic coming into and out of the building. Appellant stated that the vehicles would "come whipping around there and blow the horn or whatever." Bill Huebner stated that for a vehicle coming into the building from the outside it was like driving into a cave. Vehicle traffic approaching from the outside had no warning of the presence of the scaffolding and workmen inside the door. Each time a vehicle approached, appellant and Bill Huebner had to descend from the scaffolding That Monday appellant communicated to Leonard Gradert and the PP & L engineer the safety problem and the need for a barricade or flagging. The PP & L engineer responded that the door could not be barricaded because of the need for vehicle access, and he refused to commit himself regarding flagging off the door. Appellant and Bill Huebner also discussed the need for flagging with Danny Foster on that Monday. Danny Foster relayed the complaint to his supervisor, Leonard Gradert, who responded that the door could not be shut off but that he would refer the matter to PP & L. Danny Foster also mentioned the problem to Rand Haapapuro. Danny Foster stated that he did not personally assume responsibility for flagging off the door because Leonard Gradert had informed him that this project was to be supervised by PP & L's Weldon Dunn and that he, Foster, was to stay away from it. Similarly, appellant and Bill Huebner had been told, or were under the impression, that they were prohibited from barricading or flagging off the door.
and move it out of the way. In addition to the inconvenience, appellant stated that he perceived the safety problem.
The record indicates this pattern of...
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