Engman v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.

591 S.W.2d 78, 1979 Mo. App. LEXIS 2622
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 29, 1979
DocketKCD 29921
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 591 S.W.2d 78 (Engman v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Engman v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., 591 S.W.2d 78, 1979 Mo. App. LEXIS 2622 (Mo. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinions

TURNAGE, Judge.

Ann Engman filed suit individually and as next friend for her children Nora and Walter against Southwestern Bell Telephone Company for invasion of privacy. The Engmans and Bell filed motions for summary judgment and the court sustained Bell’s motion and overruled the Engman motion. Engman appeals the granting of Bell’s motion. The Engmans now contend their petition stated a cause of action for invasion of privacy and the tariff relied upon by Bell was not a defense as a matter of law. Reversed and remanded.

Engman first filed suit in 1975, and filed an amended petition in two counts in 1977. The first count alleged that Ann Engman was a subscriber of Bell and received telephone service for a number of years, that in March, 1975, Ann became delinquent in the payment of her bills to Bell and her service was discontinued. Bell notified her that her telephone equipment would be removed if the bills were not paid by a day certain. The petition continued that about 9:30 A.M. on April 7, 1975, Nora Engman missed school and was at home sick in bed when an employee of Bell appeared at her bedroom door and stated he was there to take out the telephones. It was alleged the employee had not attempted to advise Engman that he was coming nor did he knock at the front door of the Engman apartment before he entered. The petition alleged the entry of the Bell employee constituted a trespass and an invasion of the privacy of the Eng-man home and caused Nora and Ann Eng-man humiliation, embarrassment, annoyance and exposed them to public contempt and ridicule. The petition alleged the acts of the Bell employee were willful, wanton, reckless and malicious and prayed for actual and punitive damages.

The second count in the Engman petition made the same allegations with reference to Ann Engman subscribing to telephone service from Bell. It was alleged the Eng-man telephone service was suspended in May, 1977, for non-payment of her bill and she was notified in early May that if her bill was not paid by a date certain the telephone equipment would be removed from her premises. The petition continued that on May 12, 1977, Walter Engman was in bed in the family apartment when he [80]*80was awakened at 2:30 P.M. by an employee of Bell who informed him he was there for the purpose of removing the telephone equipment. It was alleged the Bell employee did not attempt to advise Ann Engman of his intent to enter the apartment nor did he knock on the door before entering. It alleged the first Walter knew of the presence of the Bell employee was when he was touched sharply on the foot by the employee and he awoke. It was alleged the Bell employee committed a trespass and invaded the privacy of the Engman home. It was alleged the entry by the Bell employee invaded the privacy of both Walter and Ann and caused both humiliation, embarrassment, annoyance, disgrace and exposed both to public ridicule. The conduct of Bell was termed unwarranted, willful, intentional, malicious, without just cause or excuse, and the prayer was for both actual and punitive damages.

Bell’s answer relied principally upon a tariff filed with the Public Service Commission which Bell alleged granted to it a license coupled with an interest to enter the Engman apartment for the purpose of removing its telephone equipment. The tariff relied upon by Bell was as follows:

Ownership-Equipment, instruments and lines on customers premises, furnished by the Telephone Company, shall be and remain the property of the Telephone Company, whose agents and employees have the right to enter said premises at any reasonable hour for the purpose of installing, inspecting, maintaining or repairing the equipment, instruments and lines for the purpose of making collections from coin boxes and, upon termination of service, for the purpose of removing such equipment, instruments and lines.

Depositions of all the Engmans and Thomas Singleton, the Bell employee who entered the Engman apartment on both occasions to remove the telephone equipment, were taken and filed. There is no doubt Singleton entered the Engman apartment and removed the telephone equipment in both 1975 and 1977. The parties apparently felt the primary issue to be resolved was whether the tariff gave Singleton the right to enter the apartment even if the Engman version that he did not knock or obtain permission to enter on either occasion be accepted. The Engmans took the position the tariff did not authorize Singleton’s entry, but even if it did, he committed a trespass under § 560.447, RSMo 1975 Supp. Bell contended the tariff raised a bar to the Engman action with the result the respective motions for summary judgment were presented for the purpose of resolving the tariff defense. The court overruled the Engmans’ motion and sustained Bell’s motion without elaboration.

On this appeal the parties continue to maintain the positions they assumed in the trial court. The effect of the tariff was decided in Warner v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, 428 S.W.2d 596 (Mo.1968). In that case the court considered the defense of a tariff limitation on the amount of damages which could be recovered for erroneous listings in the directory. The court held the Public Service Commission has the authority to determine the reasonableness of the rates and regulations and limitations promulgated by Bell and its determination in that regard may only be reviewed in the method provided by statute. The court held, however, that “[t]he courts have jurisdiction of a suit for damages based on negligence in which a determination of the legal validity and the applicability of such provisions to a given state of facts is required.” 428 S.W.2d 602[9-11], Under this holding the legal validity and applicability of the tariff raised as a bar to the Engman action by Bell is to be determined by the courts. Warner further held “ ‘[a] bargain for exemption from liability for the consequences of a willful breach of duty is illegal, * * * and “[w]e conclude that the limitation of defendant’s liability was and is effective if defendant’s conduct was merely negligent, but that it does not constitute an exemption for willful and wanton conduct.” 428 S.W.2d 603[12—14].

[81]*81It is clear from Warner that Bell’s tariff in this case would exempt it from liability for negligence but not for willful and wanton conduct. “Willfulness implies intentional wrongdoing. A wanton act is a wrongful act done on purpose, or in malicious disregard of the rights of others.” Evans v. Illinois Cent. R. Co., 289 Mo. 493, 233 S.W. 397, 400[3] (banc 1921). Thus, willful and wanton conduct as used in Warner refers to an intentional act.

The question in this case hinges on whether the conduct of Singleton in entering the apartment may be termed willful and wanton or in other words intentional, or merely negligent. This question was answered in Gonzales v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, 555 S.W.2d 219 (Tex.Civ.App.1977), where the court held a Bell employee’s entry into a private residence without the occupant’s permission in order to remove telephones was a willful tort of invasion of privacy. Gonzales had become delinquent in his telephone bill and a Bell employee was dispatched to remove the telephone equipment from the Gonzales home.

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Bluebook (online)
591 S.W.2d 78, 1979 Mo. App. LEXIS 2622, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/engman-v-southwestern-bell-telephone-co-moctapp-1979.