Asher v. City of Portland

284 P. 586, 133 Or. 41, 1930 Ore. LEXIS 73
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 25, 1929
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 284 P. 586 (Asher v. City of Portland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Asher v. City of Portland, 284 P. 586, 133 Or. 41, 1930 Ore. LEXIS 73 (Or. 1929).

Opinion

*47 MeBRIDE, J.

A careful examination of the testimony indicates that there was sufficient evidence to have sustained a verdict for plaintiff had defendant been a private corporation; the principal contention here urged being based upon the fact that defendant is a municipal corporation and the assumption that plaintiff’s position as a lineman attached to the fire department for certain purposes rendered him an officer of the municipality instead of an employee, and that therefore, he is not within the purview of the Employers’ Liability act. There is a further contention that the task in which he was then employed was governmental in its character, and that for such reason the city is not liable for the injury which he sustained.

*48 Taking np the contentions inversely, we will now consider the question as to whether the city was acting in its governmental capacity in the work in which plaintiff was engaged at the time of the accident. The testimony is somewhat scanty, but it appears that the city was engaged in the work of clearing obstructions to the approaches of a bridge across the Willamette river at Eoss island within the city limits. Whether the bridge was being constructed, or had been constructed, by the city, or by the county, or by both the city and county does not appear from the testimony. It does appear from the testimony that among the obstructions to the approaches to said bridge was an old and then unused line of telephone poles with wires attached, which had at one time been used by the city as an adjunct to its fire alarm service. The plaintiff and two other linemen were assigned to the labor of taking down these poles and wires which were a part of the obstructions. One Ambrose, who was a regularly selected and appointed lineman and who was the foreman in charge, directed plaintiff to climb one of the poles and take down the cross-arms and wires attached thereto preparatory to taking down the pole. The foreman assured plaintiff that he had tested the pole and found it safe; in fact, the pole was completely rotten at the base, which condition an adequate test would have disclosed. When the plaintiff, relying upon the assurance of the foreman that the pole had been tested, climbed it and was engaged in the labor of removing the cross-arms and wires, it broke at the base and he was injured. The foregoing is a brief sketch of plaintiff’s testimony and only intended to show the nature of the work he was engaged in. As before noted, the evidence, as to what part of the work *49 the city was conducting, is very meager, consisting practically of the following testimony of plaintiff:

“Q. "What were you doing this time you were hurt? .Give the jury án idea what the work was that was going on.
“A. They were building that approach to the west end of the Eoss Island bridge; we were moving all of that stuff out of there so as to make room for it, and they were in a hurry to get that out of there on account the contractors was up with the work, waiting on us.
“Q. How long had you been on the job taking wires out and clearing for the Eoss Island bridge?
“A. Well, this particular time we went up there that morning, this particular day.
“Q. How long had you been working around that bridge ?
“A. Oh, we worked there on and off for quite a little while; we had to change all our wires, re-route them, string new wires, but we hadn’t worked at it steady.
“Q. What were those wires used as you were working with?
“A. The signal system, fire alarm systems in the houses.
“Q. What were you trying to do with them at the time you were hurt?
“A. Getting them out of the way to take the poles down.
“Q. When you got them out of the way, what were you going to do with them next?
“A. They were going to be taken out of that particular location altogether.
“Q. Were you going to put up anything else, in their place?
“A. No, not that time; they had built it around another loop.
“Q. Had you already built the other route?
“A. Yes sir, working the other way. The stuff wasn’t working at that time.”

*50 There being no presumption as to what capacity the city was conducting or causing to be conducted the work, we think that, under the circumstances alleged, it is fair to assume that it was acting in its corporate or proprietary capacity instead of its governmental capacity, if indeed the capacity in which it was acting makes any difference when considering the provisions of the Employers’ Liability act as it existed at the time when this injury occurred, which matter will be discussed later.

In the case of Giaconi v. City of Astoria, 60 Or. 12, 113 P. 855, 118 P. 180, 37 L. R. A. (N. S.) 1150, which was brought against the city for negligence in the planning and execution of an undertaking for street improvement in the city of Astoria, the primary opinion was rendered by Justice Moore, who, while reversing the judgment for plaintiff on other grounds, defined its liability for negligence in the execution of the work as follows:

“A municipal corporation in devising plans for improving public highways within its borders acts judicially, and when proceeding in good faith is not liable for errors of judgment; but in constructing the work it acts ministerially, and is bound to see that the plan is executed in a reasonably safe and skillful manner. Goddard v. Inhabitants of Harpswell, 84 Me. 499, (24 Atl. 958, 30 Am. St. Rep. 373, 379); Chicago v. Norton Milling Co., 196 Ill. 580, (63 N. E. 1043); Lansing v. Toolan, 37 Mich. 152; Defer v. Detroit, 67 Mich. 346 (34 N. W. 680); McDonald v. Duluth, 93 Minn. 206 (100 N. W. 1102); Watters v. Omaha, 76 Neb. 855 (107 N. W. 1007; 110 N. W. 981, 14 Ann. Cas. 750).”

The matter came up for rehearing, and Justice Burnett speaking for the majority of the court, among other things, said:

“The principal contention for the defendant is that, within the meaning of Brand v. Multnomah Comity, 38 *51 Or. 79 (60 Pac. 390; 62 Pac. 209; 50 L. R. A. 389; 84 Am. St. Rep. 772), and other like precedents, the grievances of which the plaintiff complains were consequential injuries resulting from the exercise of the city’s governmental function of improving its streets. Herein is involved the distinction between the legislative and administrative powers of the city.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
284 P. 586, 133 Or. 41, 1930 Ore. LEXIS 73, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/asher-v-city-of-portland-or-1929.