Tallahatchie Valley Elec. Power Ass'n v. Clinton
| Decision Date | 27 April 1977 |
| Docket Number | No. 49167,49167 |
| Citation | 347 So.2d 348 |
| Parties | TALLAHATCHIE VALLEY ELECTRIC POWER ASSOCIATION v. Bessie C. CLINTON, Administratrix of the Estate of Joe Clinton, Deceased. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Fant, Crutcher, Moore & Spencer, L. G. Fant, Jr., Holly Springs, Mitchell, McNutt, Bush, Lagrone & Sams, Fred M. Bush, Jr., Tupelo, for appellant.
John S. Throop, Jr., Water Valley, Farese, Farese & Farese, Ashland, Liston, Crull & Gibson, William H. Liston, Winona, for appellee.
Before PATTERSON, ROBERTSON and BROOM, JJ.
The facts are stated in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, Bessie C. Clinton, whom the jury awarded $125,000, reduced, on condition of remittitur, to $62,500. There is little conflict in the evidence regarding the circumstances which gave rise to the death of Joe Clinton.
Appellee, the widow and representative of the eleven children of Joe Clinton, sued the appellant, Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association, a corporation organized under the laws of Mississippi for the distribution of electricity. The plaintiff brought the suit under the wrongful death statute charging that appellant negligently maintained its power lines the proximate result of which was the death of Joe Clinton.
In 1971 Tallahatchie was engaged in the transmission, distribution and sale of electrical energy in northern Mississippi, including Yalobusha County. Sometime in 1948 or 1949, Tallahatchie constructed an electrical transmission line running northeasterly out of the town of Water Valley to supply potential customers. The occupants of the "P. S. McCain home," situated on the south side of the DeLay Road approximately five miles northeast of Water Valley and within Yalobusha County, were served by this power line. The McCain residence faced approximately north and Tallahatchie's electrical lines passed it in an easterly-westerly direction. The northwest corner of the residence was 18.35 feet south from the perpendicular plane of appellant's power lines, and the northeast corner of the building was 28.78 feet south of the perpendicular plane of the lines. The single phase line consisted of two uninsulated conductors, one above the other, carrying 7200 volts of electricity. The highest conductor was a phase line, 33.78 feet above ground level, and the lower a neutral line, 29.92 feet above ground level.
When the line was constructed and energized, the McCain residence did not have an external television antenna nor were such common in the Tallahatchie service area. In 1955 a 60-foot television antenna was erected at the McCain residence in such a position that if it had fallen toward the transmission line, it would have made contact with the primary or phase line. The antenna remained at this height from 1955 through November 1970 when it was removed.
In March 1971, a 29-foot antenna was erected at the "McCain" residence by the Johnsons, succeeding lessees, which would not have struck the lines had it fallen toward them. During the last week of June or the first week of July 1971, this antenna was extended in height to approximately 40 feet and anchored by two guy wires. Additionally, the antenna was strapped with two metal bands to the building's northwest corner. The antenna remained in this position and height until August 31, 1971, the date of the accident.
Steven Vokril, a meter reader employed by Tallahatchie, testified that he observed the installation of the antenna and at that time it was lower than the subject line. Vokril returned on July 12 and August 12, 1971, to read the meter but could not recall whether an "antenna conflict," i. e. the possibility of contact due to the extended height of the antenna and the proximity of the power line, existed on these dates.
In August 1971, the Johnson family decided to move and sold most of their furniture, as well as the external television antenna, to Peoples Wholesale Company of Water Valley. Accordingly, Joe Clinton, Gary Hopkins and Julian Box, employees of Peoples, arrived at the "McCain" residence to remove the antenna and furniture. While the workers were removing the furniture, Box and Hopkins were informed by Horace Johnson, Mrs. Johnson also related to all three workers the proper method of disassembling the antenna by removing and lowering one section of the mast at a time. She said:
A. I told them to be very careful of the power lines. The boy, like I said, seemed to be in a very big hurry. He wanted to hurry and get out because they were teasing him about calling his girl friend. He said it would take only a short while to get it down and I said to be very careful in taking it down. I said, you do have to watch those wires up there, if you try to pull it down or anything, because I don't want nobody to get hurt. I said, take it down like it was put up and you won't have any problems and it won't take much time.
Q. Did you tell them that one time or more than one time?
A. No, I said something about it quite a few times, six, seven, or maybe more times.
Q. You told all three of them that?
A. Yes, sir.
To those present it appeared that Julian Box was in charge of the moving crew. Hopkins, the youngest of the three, ascended the roof and severed the antenna guy wires; he then cut the metal straps which secured the antenna to the building. Having freed the antenna, the men attempted to "walk" it down when, becoming unmanageable, it fell onto the upper wire. All three were instantly electrocuted.
At the conclusion of the evidence and overruling of several motions, the cause was submitted to the jury. Nine minutes later it returned a verdict for $125,000, the full amount demanded in the declaration, even though it had been instructed by the court that the plaintiff's decedent was negligent as a matter of law. The amount of the judgment was reduced, as mentioned, on condition of remittitur to $62,500.
Appellant assigns and argues as error the following:
1. An instruction, which permitted the jury to find "from a preponderance of the evidence" that the defendant "failed to inspect its line" was reversible error.
2. An instruction that an antenna conflict had existed in 1955 was erroneous.
3. The court's...
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McFarland v. Entergy Mississippi, Inc.
...care to correct or remove the cause of danger if reasonably foreseeable and known to the power company." Tallahatchie Valley Elec. Power Ass'n v. Clinton, 347 So.2d 348, 350 (Miss.1977). We all agree the downed power line was caused by an event which Entergy had no control over. However, wh......
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McFarland v. ENTERGY MISSISSIPPI, INC., No. 2003-CT-00538-SCT.
...to correct or remove the cause of danger if reasonably foreseeable and known to the power company." Tallahatchie Valley Elec. Power Ass'n v. Clinton, 347 So.2d 348, 350 (Miss. 1977). We all agree the downed power line was caused by an event which Entergy had no control over. However, when c......
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Mosby v. Southwestern Elec. Power Co.
...insufficient to raise a jury issue on the foreseeability of the accident to the power company. See also Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Ass'n v. Clinton, 347 So.2d 348 (Miss.1977); Vital v. Housing Authority of New Iberia, 360 So.2d 1182 (La.App.1978); Daniel v. Oklahoma Gas & Electric C......
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Mayberry v. Pearl River Farmers Co-op., A.A.L.
...under Note 16 in 5 C.J.S. Appeal and Error p. 616, § 1648." 249 Miss. at 824, 164 So.2d at 419. In Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Ass'n. v. Clinton, 347 So.2d 348 (Miss.1977), the Court reiterated the "We are, of course, aware that a court should not substitute its judgment for a jury's......