Borner v. Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.

65 N.W.2d 127, 1954 N.D. LEXIS 81
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedApril 9, 1954
DocketNo. 7375
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 65 N.W.2d 127 (Borner v. Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Borner v. Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., 65 N.W.2d 127, 1954 N.D. LEXIS 81 (N.D. 1954).

Opinions

SATHRE, Judge.

The plaintiff brings this action against the defendant, a foreign corporation, to recover damages for personal injuries claimed to have been sustained by reason of the negligence of the defendant in repairing a furnace in the residence of the plaintiff. The complaint alleges that the defendant at [128]*128the request of the plaintiff did undertake to repair and check the furnace in her residence; that the defendant carelessly and negligently performed its work by and through its agents and servants; that it repaired and altered said furnace in a careless and negligent manner and permitted unburned gas to escape into the basement and dwelling of said home and residence; that by reason thereof plaintiff while in her said home unknowingly inhaled a large quantity of deadly gas and became seriously ill and was required to go to a hospital under the care of doctors and nurses and that at all times since, the plaintiff has been ill by reason thereof and permanently injured and crippled and has suffered great pain to her damage in the sum of $2,990. Judgment is demanded for said amount.

The defendant answered by general denial, specifically denying each and every allegation in the complaint, except that it admits that it is a foreign corporation and that it is engaged in the business of installing and repairing furnaces in homes and residences including the home of the plaintiff. As a further defense it alleges that the injuries which the plaintiff alleges she sustained, if any, were occasioned by and through the direct result of her own contributory negligence and failure to exercise ordinary care and caution for her own safety.

The case was tried in the district court of Morton County before the Honorable J. O. Wigen, District Judge and a jury.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and assessed her damages in the sum of $200 “for inconvenience sustained”. Judgment was entered for the plaintiff in accordance with the verdict and the defendant appealed.

The plaintiff Emma E. Borner testified in substance as follows:

That in 1944 she purchased a home in the city of Mandan, Morton County, North Dakota; that the said home had a hot water coal burning heating plant and that thereafter she employed the defendant to convert the same into a gas burner with a thermostat by which the amount of heat desired may be controlled; that during the summer months the gas was turned off; and that it was turned off during the summer of 1951. She testified further that she had several roomers or tenants living with her in her said residence; that on or about the 10th day of October she called the defendant’s place of business by telephone to send a man to check the furnace and to repair it if needed and turn on the gas and light the pilot light; that one of the girls at the office answered the call and the plaintiff said she would like to talk to one of the men; that she was informed that the men were not in but the office girl said she would give the message to Mr. Gates the manager and he would send someone to do the work; that no one came to start the furnace and on the 16th day of October she again called the defendant company and a' girl answered the telephone; that plaintiff referred to her previous call about wanting the heat turned on, to which the girl replied, “You can talk to Mr. Gates, he is here”; that Mr. Gates came to the telephone and that'she asked him if the girl had given him her message and that Mr. Gates replied “they had been up there, why don’t you turn on your heat”. This conversation with Mr. Gates she claims was on the 16th day of October between 4 and 5 o’clock in the afternoon. After having talked to Mr. Gates over the telephone she turned the thermostat up to 72 degrees and then felt the heat coming on. She stated further that she had called the defendant’s office several times to check the furnace but had not written down the dates that she called. She went to bed that evening about 10 o’clock and she became sick during the night. Sometime later during the same night she “passed out” and did not “come to” until several hours later. She recalled that Dr. Blumenthal was there and it must have been about 3 o’clock in the morning. Dr. Blumenthal made several trips thereafter and treated her; she found it difficult to talk. She stated that up to this time she had been perfectly well but since then she has had pains in her lungs and that her hearing has been weakened and she found it difficult to breathe. It was discovered that on the night she became sick gas fumes had escaped from the furnace and had come into the several rooms of the house; [129]*129that the gas fumes were the cause of her illness and that several other occupants of the house had also become ill. Plaintiff's husband Paul Borner testified that he lived with the plaintiff and that he operated a saw mill some 8 or 9 miles from Mandan; that when he came home on the evening of the 16th he had discovered that his wife and other occupants of their residence were ill and that Dr. Blumenthal was treating his wife, the plaintiff. He did not go to work on the 17th of October and it was found that gas fumes were leaking from the furnace. He thereupon called the defendant's manager Mr. Gates to come and check the furnace and that in response to his call Mr. Gates and one- Mr. Kredler came to his residence and that they went into the basement and found that the vent pipe leading from the furnace to the chimney was down on the floor, but that the gas was burning in the furnace. He testified further that he had a work bench in the basement and that he went down to the basement two or three times a week and that he was in the basement on the 15th of October and that the vent pipe was up and in its proper place; that he was first “gassed” on October 16th and that the first time he saw the vent pipe down was on the evening of October 17th.

The defendant obtained an order from the District Court requiring the plaintiff to submit to a medical examination. Accordingly she was examined by Dr. John Cartwright of the City of Bismarck. Dr. Cartwright was called as a witness by defendant and was examined by counsel for both parties. The examination was lengthy and it is not necessary to recite his findings in detail here. The plaintiff inhaled the gas fumes on October 16 and 17, 1951 and she was examined by Dr. Cartwright on April 21, 1952. The doctor testified that he made a thorough examination of plaintiff particularly with reference to the effect of gas fumes upon the vital organs and the general health of the patient. From his examination he concluded that all of her vital organs functioned normally and that her general health was good and that he found no injurious effects from gas fumes which she might have inhaled.

Dorothy Maas, general bookkeeper and cashier of the defendant, testified that on September 14th she answered a telephone call from the plaintiff Mrs. Borner, and that she wrote down the work order in a book used for that purpose known as Commercial Service Record. The order form is in triplicate and all copies carry the same number 129781. The top sheet is placed in a basket called the “gas basket” and the service men take the work orders from the gas basket. Defendant’s exhibits D and E are original and duplicate of the work order taken from the plaintiff on September 14, 1951. Defendant’s Exhibit D, was admitted in evidence and is as follows:

“Commercial Service Order No. 129 781

Location, Mandan Date 9/14,1951

Name Paul Borner Address 310 2nd Ave. NW Service Request Received from Mrs 8-115

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Bluebook (online)
65 N.W.2d 127, 1954 N.D. LEXIS 81, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/borner-v-montana-dakota-utilities-co-nd-1954.