David Lynch, Sr. v. Bradley E. Poe

CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedSeptember 9, 2022
DocketM2021-00867-COA-R3-CV
StatusPublished

This text of David Lynch, Sr. v. Bradley E. Poe (David Lynch, Sr. v. Bradley E. Poe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
David Lynch, Sr. v. Bradley E. Poe, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

09/09/2022 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE April 5, 2022 Session

DAVID LYNCH, SR. ET AL. v. BRADLEY E. POE ET AL.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Davidson County No. 18C2563 Kelvin D. Jones, Judge ___________________________________

No. M2021-00867-COA-R3-CV ___________________________________

This is a multi-party premises liability and general negligence action among a roofer who fell from the homeowner’s roof, the homeowner who erected the scaffolding at issue, and the scaffolding company that rented the scaffolding to the homeowner, but did not erect the scaffolding. The complaint alleged that the roofer slipped and fell on the roof and then bounced over to the scaffolding before falling to the ground. The complaint also alleged that had a safety rail been installed on the scaffolding it could have prevented the roofer’s fall. The homeowner filed an answer denying liability and alleging comparative fault against the scaffolding company. Consequently, the roofer filed an amended complaint adding the scaffolding company as a codefendant. After discovery, the scaffolding company filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that it owed no duty to the roofer or the homeowner because it had no control over the premises nor actual or constructive notice of a dangerous condition on the premises. The roofer and homeowner opposed the motion contending, inter alia, that this is a case of general negligence against the scaffolding company because the homeowner relied on the scaffolding company for guidance during the installation process and the scaffolding company assumed the duty of care to ensure the scaffold was installed safely. They also contend that summary judgment was not appropriate because material facts are in dispute. The trial court summarily dismissed all claims against the scaffolding company, and this appeal followed. We find that the material facts are not in dispute and that the scaffolding company was entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law on claims sounding in premises liability and general negligence. Thus, we affirm the summary dismissal of all claims against the scaffolding company.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Affirmed

FRANK G. CLEMENT JR., P.J., M.S., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ANDY D. BENNETT and W. NEAL MCBRAYER, JJ., joined.

Owen R. Lipscomb, Brentwood, Tennessee, for the appellant, Bradley E. Poe. Brian Dunigan, Goodlettsville, Tennessee, for the appellants, David Lynch and Gaila Lynch.

Bruce D. Gill, Darren R. Smith, and Laura E. Bassett, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Contractors Access Equipment Jackson, Inc.

OPINION

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Bradley E. Poe (“Mr. Poe”) owns a two-story home located at 2509 Belmont Boulevard in Nashville, Tennessee. On July 11, 2017, Mr. Poe hired a roofing contractor, H.E. Parmer Company, Inc., (“H.E. Parmer”) to repair/replace the clay tile roof and copper gutter system of his home. Contrary to customary practices, Mr. Poe insisted that he, not Parmer, would be responsible for installing the scaffolding around his house because he was concerned that other scaffold installers may damage the exterior of his house. Therefore, Mr. Poe, not Parmer, was responsible for installing a scaffold system with a workable platform at eave height for use by H.E. Parmer’s crew.

To accomplish this, Mr. Poe entered into a separate contract with Contractors Access Equipment Jackson, Inc., a.k.a. Direct Scaffold Services (“DSS”) to rent a frame and brace scaffold system. While DSS offered an installation service for an additional cost, Mr. Poe declined that service, choosing to install the scaffold system himself. As Mr. Poe later explained in his deposition, he decided to erect the scaffolding himself because it would be done right, it would be safe, and nothing on his house would get torn up.

According to Mr. Poe, he had worked as a contractor and had experience assembling scaffolding for a “few small projects he had done alone.” However, Mr. Poe later admitted that this scaffolding project was more involved than any project he had undertaken. He also admitted that he did not have any safety training on scaffold assembly. As a result, Mr. Poe occasionally called DSS for guidance regarding what certain pieces of the scaffolding were for and where to place them. However, at no point did Mr. Poe request or indicate to DSS that he would like an inspection of the scaffolding he had installed or that he would like to purchase the scaffolding installation service.

DSS Sales Manager, Jeffrey Ferrell, visited the Poe residence on one or two occasions. During one visit, Mr. Ferrell noticed that Mr. Poe had placed the scaffold on a sloped surface using cinder blocks rather than leveling jacks, at which point Mr. Ferrell advised Mr. Poe on using leveling jacks. Mr. Ferrell also stated that he responded to a few questions Mr. Poe asked, but he did not offer installation advice or supervision. Other DSS employees also visited the site but only to deliver additional pieces of scaffolding when

-2- requested by Mr. Poe. Further, DSS insists that its employees never assembled or installed any of the scaffolding at Mr. Poe’s residence, and there is no evidence to the contrary.

On November 29, 2017, David Lynch, a roofer working for H.E. Parmer, slipped and fell off of Mr. Poe’s roof. According to Mr. Lynch, when he fell he first hit the roof then bounced over the scaffold, landing on the ground where he suffered “catastrophic injuries” as a result. As Mr. Lynch explained, he was unable to grab onto the scaffold to prevent his fall.

Mr. Ferrell reviewed post-accident photos of the portion of the scaffold where Mr. Lynch fell. Upon review of the photos, Mr. Ferrell stated that the scaffold had not been safely built because it should have had guardrail posts at a height of at least 21 to 42 inches, but they were missing.

Mr. Poe blamed H.E. Parmer employees for the missing guardrail posts. As he explained it, after he installed the guardrails, Parmer employees would remove sections of the guardrails in order to use a ladder to access the roof, after which Mr. Poe would have to reinstall those sections.

However, Mr. Ferrell stated that any problem with the guardrail posts were not a result of Mr. Lynch or his co-workers. Instead, Mr. Ferrell was of the opinion that the guardrail posts had never been installed. Even if H.E. Parmer employees had removed sections for access, Mr. Ferrell explained, “there would be no reason to remove all of the posts.” As he explained, the post-accident photos showed the sections of guardrail and cross braces that had not been installed were leaning against the base of the scaffolding posts.

Mr. Lynch contends that had there been a guardrail where he fell, he would have been able to grab onto it to prevent his fall. Mr. Ferrell also agreed that the guardrail posts would have stopped the fall. Mr. Lynch did not recall removing any of the guardrail sections in order to use a ladder. For his part, Mr. Poe stated that he did not know whether DSS had knowledge regarding the removed guardrails, and could not recall the last time anyone from DSS had been at the residence prior to the incident.

OHSA subsequently inspected the site and fined H.E. Parmer after it determined that the scaffold was not compliant with OSHA regulations. After Mr. Poe was notified of the OSHA problems, he retained DSS to install the scaffolding to make it compliant with OSHA regulations, which DSS did.

Mr. Lynch and his wife Gaila (collectively “Plaintiffs”) brought suit against Mr. Poe alleging that Mr. Poe acted negligently when he installed the scaffolding and that this negligence resulted in his fall. In response, Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
David Lynch, Sr. v. Bradley E. Poe, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/david-lynch-sr-v-bradley-e-poe-tennctapp-2022.