E. L. Bruce Co. v. Yax

199 S.W. 535, 135 Ark. 480, 1917 Ark. LEXIS 676
Supreme Court of Arkansas·Decided December 17, 1917·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

WOOD, J.,

(after stating the facts). (1) The evidence was sufficient to warrant the court in sending the issues of negligence, contributory negligence and assumed risk to the jury.

(2) Appellant’s principal contention is that the act of Sanders in wrapping the pulley in the manner alleged and proved was not within the scope of his employment and in the line of his duty at the time, and that therefore, under the uncontradieted evidence, the appellant was not liable, and that the court should have so instructed the jury. This contention of appellant is not sound.

The duty of Sanders was to take charge of the machine, to look after it and see that it was operated rightly. He was requested by the superintendent to make the machine, which was one of the best of its kind, make an average of 30,000 square feet in a ten hours’ run, which was the normal output for such a machine.

On the day of the injury over an hour’s time had been lost and Sanders was endeavoring to make up this lost time by enlarging the pulley so as to increase the speed of the machine. Sanders was an experienced machinist, and he was placed in charge of this machine, without any specific directions however as to what he should do to make the machine produce the usual output in case there was any loss of time. No instructions upon that subject were given him one way or the other. No hard and fast rule has been or can be prescribed by which to determine what acts are within the scope of a servant’s employment. Each case is governed by its own particular facts, under certain general rules of law.

Cooley says: “Where a servant acts without reference to the service for which he is employed, and not for the purpose of performing the work of the employer, but to effect some independent purpose of his own, the master is not responsible for either the acts or omissions of the servant. ’ ’ Cooley on Torts, 1032; 26 Cyc. 1536. Conversely, when the servant acts with reference to the services for which, he is employed and for the purpose of performing the work of his employer, and not for any independent purpose of his own, but purely for the benefit of his master, it is generally held, under such circumstances, that the acts so done are within the scope of the servant’s employment.

In Sweeden v. Atkinson Imp. Co., 93 Ark. 397, 402, we said: “The act of the servant for which the master is liable must pertain to something that is incident to the employment for which he is hired, and which it is his duty to perform, or be for the benefit of the master. It is therefore necessary to see in each particular case what was the object, purpose and end of the employment and what was the object and purpose of the servant in doing the act complained of. The mere fact that he was in the service generally of the master or that the servant was in possession of facilities afforded by the master in the use of which the injury was done would not make the act attributable to the master. The act must have been done in the execution of the service for which he was engaged. ’’ See also Tillar v. Reynolds, 96 Ark. 358; Arkansas Natural Gas. Co v. Lee, 115 Ark. 288. See also the well considered case of Marlowe v. Bland, 154 N. C. 140, 9 S. E. 752, 47 L. R. A. (N. S.) 1116.

Now, applying these general principles to the facts of this record, it was an issue for the jury to determine as to whether or not the acts of Sanders in wrapping the pulley were within the scope of his employment. The court did not err in refusing to take this issue from the jury, and did not err in refusing to grant appellant’s prayer for instruction No. 2 on this issue.* This prayer was argumentative, abstract and calculated to mislead the jury, because, even though appellee may have acted without the instruction or knowledge of the defendant and wholly of his own accord, he might still be acting within the scope of his employment, provided the act was done for the benefit of the master and in the line of appellee’s duty to operate the machine so as to produce, if possible under the circumstances, the quantity of finished flooring that the appellant’s superintendent had requested in the day’s run of ten hours.

In determining the issue of whether or not the machinist was acting within the scope of his employment it was proper for the jury to consider the testimony on behalf of the appellant tending to show that the machinist, in wrapping the pulley, was acting without the instructions or knowledge of the appellant, hut this is as far as the instruction should have gone. It was still for the jury to decide, after considering such testimony in connection with the other facts, as to whether or not the machinist was acting within the scope of his employment.

(3) At the request of the appellee the court granted the following prayer for instruction: “You are instructed that plaintiff assumed all the risks and hazards ordinarily and usually incident to his employment, and that he will be presumed to have contracted with reference to such risks and hazards, if known and appreciated by him. He will be presumed to have assumed the risks incident to all dangers and defects which were apparent and obvious, if any. If he knew and appreciated the danger of the conditions complained of in this case, and you find such was a usual and ordinary risk, you must find for the defendant. But if you find the danger complained of was not an ordinary and usual risk incident to his employment, and plaintiff continued to work, knowing and appreciating the danger, he was guilty of contributory negligence. ’ ’

This suit was instituted under our statute commonly known as the employers’ liability act, Act 175 Acts of 1913, p. 734. The first section of the act provides, in substance, that every corporation, except while engaged in interstate commerce, shall be liable to its employees for personal injuries sustained by them resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of the corporation or any of its officers, agents or employees.

Neither contributory negligence nor assumption of risk is a defense under the statute where the corporation by violating any statute enacted for the safety of its employees thereby contributed to the injury or death of sucia employees. In all other cases contributory negligence is not a complete defense, but assumption of risk is. There is a clear distinction in'the statute between the defenses of assumption of risk and contributory negligence. Except in cases where a violation of the statute by the corporation caused or contributed to the injury, contributory negligence does not bar a recovery, but only diminishes the damages in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the employee; but except in such cases where a violation of the statute by the corporation caused or contributed to the injury, assumption of risk is a complete defense.

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E. L. Bruce Co. v. Yax, 199 S.W. 535, 135 Ark. 480, 1917 Ark. LEXIS 676 (Ark. 1917).

199 S.W. 535 (E. L. Bruce Co. v. Yax) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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