Baird, B. v. Smiley, P.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 19, 2017
DocketBaird, B. v. Smiley, P. No. 1251 WDA 2016
StatusUnpublished

This text of Baird, B. v. Smiley, P. (Baird, B. v. Smiley, P.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baird, B. v. Smiley, P., (Pa. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

J-A12020-17

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

BRIAN S. BAIRD AND LAURA BAIRD, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF HUSBAND AND WIFE : PENNSYLVANIA : Appellants : : : v. : : : No. 1251 WDA 2016 PATRICK SMILEY, JR. T/D/B/A TRI- : COUNTY BUILDERS, A/D/B/A TRI- : COUNTY GARAGE DOORS, AND : FAIRMAN'S ROOF & FLOOR : TRUSSES, INC. A/D/B/A FAIRMAN'S : ROOF TRUSSES, INC. :

Appeal from the Order Entered July 26, 2016 In the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County Civil Division at No(s): 2012-2746

BEFORE: OLSON, J., SOLANO, J., and RANSOM, J.

MEMORANDUM BY RANSOM, J.: FILED JULY 19, 2017

Appellants, Brian and Laura Baird, appeal from the order entered July

26, 2016, denying their motion to remove the entry of nonsuit as to Appellee

Patrick Smiley, Jr. t/d/b/a Tri-County Builders, a/d/b/a Tri-County Garage

Doors, following a jury trial that resulted in a $501,107.41 verdict in

Appellants’ favor against Fairman’s Roof & Floor Trusses, Inc. a/d/b/a

Fairman’s Roof Trusses, Inc.1 We affirm. ____________________________________________

1 “Where a court has entered a judgment of compulsory nonsuit, the appeal lies not from the entry of the judgment itself, but rather from the court's refusal to remove it.” Vicari v. Spiegel, 936 A.2d 503, 508 n.5 (Pa. Super. 2007) (citation omitted). J-A12020-17

The relevant facts and procedural history are as follows. Roger Grow

entered into a contract with Appellee Patrick Smiley, Jr. of Tri-County

Builders (“Smiley”) to act as general contractor for the construction of a

large pole building on Grow’s property (“the Grow job”). Smiley hired Chris

Fisher of Chris Fisher Construction as the primary subcontractor to supply

labor and supervise the building of the structure. Fisher hired Appellant

Brian Baird to work as a laborer/carpenter. Smiley introduced Fisher to

Grow as the primary builder. Notes of Testimony (N.T.), Smiley, 6/29/2016,

at 3-9 (“N.T. Smiley”).

Fisher began work in October 2011. See N.T., Fisher, 6/27/2016, at 9

(“N.T. Fisher”). Smiley did not frequent the jobsite or retain any right of

supervision. See N.T. Smiley at 9-14. Fisher told Smiley when he was

ready for certain materials, and Smiley would order them. See N.T. Fisher

at 8; see also N.T. Smiley at 14-15.

Smiley ordered the trusses for the roof from Appellee Fairman’s Roof

Trusses (“Fairman’s”). Smiley provided specifications for the design to

Fairman’s, including the length, pitch (slope), and spacing between each

truss. See N.T., Fairman, 6/28/2016, at 10-11 (“N.T. Fairman”). A

Fairman’s employee sketched a design, which Smiley subsequently

approved. See id. at 12. Thereafter, Fairman’s manufactured the forty-

one, eighty-foot long trusses according to Smiley’s specifications; each truss

weighing approximately eight-hundred pounds. See id. at 5, 9-10. In

addition, Fairman’s informed Smiley in writing that an engineering

-2- J-A12020-17

professional should design a bracing plan as well as be on site for the

installation. Id. at 12-13.

The laborers and carpenters used Fisher’s equipment and structure

bracing components to build the pole structure. See N.T. Fisher at 12.

Fisher and another laborer set the posts on the side of the building, and,

using a machine, they built the sidewalls, placed 2-by-4’s around the

outside, and fastened sheet metal for the outside of the building to form the

exterior structure. Id. at 17-18. Fisher called Smiley to extend the date of

delivery of the trusses due to rain, which Smiley did. Id. at 11. Smiley

arranged for the trusses to be delivered by Fairman’s around November 17,

2011. Id. at 19, 21.

On delivery day, Mr. Fairman arrived carrying the delivery in a flatbed

truck; however, one side of the trusses hung off the truck causing all of the

trusses to bow (bend). Id. at 35. After installing the first two or three sets

of trusses, Fisher called Smiley. Fisher informed Smiley that his team was

having a hard time installing the trusses because they were bowed. Id. at

36-37. Smiley told Fisher to do his best to get the trusses up. Id.

The bows in the trusses made them difficult to brace as the building

progressed and this threw off Fisher’s measurements. Id. at 39. However,

Fisher did not believe it was his responsibility to hire any engineering

services for the job. Id. at 31. The original bid sent out for labor by Smiley

did not advise Fisher to include the cost of an engineer for supervision of the

bracing of the trusses. Id. at 41.

-3- J-A12020-17

On Friday, November 18, 2011, Fisher’s laborers set twenty trusses.

Id. at 47. Appellant Baird worked twenty-feet above ground and used

Fisher’s tools to assist with placement of the majority of the trusses. On

Monday, November 21, 2011, there were four trusses remaining. Id. at 48.

On that date, Baird was sitting in the middle of the last truss twenty-feet

above ground, nailing in the bottom and side braces, when the structure

collapsed. Id. at 45, 49. The four trusses set that day fell to the ground,

burying Baird beneath them. Id. at 51.

Fisher was operating a scissor lift facing the opposite direction when

he heard a “loud snap.” Id. Fisher scrambled to find a saw to cut Baird out

of the fallen materials and debris. As a result of the accident, Baird

sustained serious bodily injuries.

In January 2012, Smiley retained an engineering firm to inspect the

accident scene, design a bracing plan, and supervise the installation of the

replacement trusses. The engineering firm’s report found that the bowed

trusses had been a contributing factor to the collapse of the roof.

In July 2012, Smiley commenced a civil action in Cambria County

against Fairman’s Roof Trusses for breach of contract and breach of

warranty. In response, Fairman’s filed a complaint to join Baird’s employer,

Chris Fisher t/d/b/a Chris Fisher Construction, as an additional defendant.

In January 2013, Baird and his wife commenced a separate civil action in

Westmoreland County against Smiley and Fairman’s for products liability,

negligent design, premises liability, negligence, and loss of consortium. See

-4- J-A12020-17

Baird v. Smiley et al., No. 193-2013 (Westmoreland Cty. Filed 1/14/2013).

Thereafter, Smiley filed a motion to coordinate these complaints based on

the common questions of law and facts. The motion was granted, and the

case was transferred to Cambria County for coordination with Smiley’s case

against Fairman’s and Fairman’s claims against Fisher. Thereafter, Smiley

filed a cross-claim against Fisher alleging that Fisher was either solely liable

for the claims asserted by Appellants or required to indemnify Smiley

pursuant to an alleged indemnification agreement between the parties. See

Pa.R.C.P. 1031.1.

The trial court bifurcated the Appellants’ claims against Fisher from all

claims of liability against Smiley and Fairman’s. The case against Smiley

and Fairman’s proceeded to a jury trial in June 2016. At the close of

plaintiffs’ case against all defendants, the trial court granted Smiley’s oral

motion for nonsuit. See Order, 7/1/2016. On July 1, 2016, the jury

returned a verdict in Appellants’ favor and against Fairman’s in the amount

of $501,107.41.

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