Harness v. Churchmembers Life Insurance Co.

175 N.E.2d 132, 241 Ind. 672, 1961 Ind. LEXIS 186
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedJune 1, 1961
Docket29,885
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 175 N.E.2d 132 (Harness v. Churchmembers Life Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harness v. Churchmembers Life Insurance Co., 175 N.E.2d 132, 241 Ind. 672, 1961 Ind. LEXIS 186 (Ind. 1961).

Opinions

Jackson, J.

This case comes to us on transfer from the Appellate Court under Acts 1933, ch. 151, §1, p. 800, being §4-215 (First), Burns’ 1946 Replacement. See: Harness v. Churchmembers Life Insurance Company (1959), 130 Ind. App. 185, 163 N. E. 2d 37 for opinion of the Appellate Court.

This action was brought by the appellant, as natural father of Stephen Harness, a minor, six years of age, against the defendants, and each of them, for the wrongful death of his son.

Appellant’s complaint, in substance, alleged that defendant, Churchmembers Life Insurance Company, was and is a domestic mutual insurance corporation engaged in writing life, health and other insurance; that on the 14th day of December 1951, and prior thereto the defendant corporation was the owner of certain real estate in Marion County, Indiana. Sometime in September 1951, the exact date being unknown to appellant, appellee insurance company began the excavation of a pit for the installation of a septic tank as an incident to the construction of a house on such real estate. The appellee insurance company employed one George F. Kopetsky to make such excavation and installation and hired one Glen Ashmore to supervise all of said construction. On or before November 1, 1951, the defendants and each of them completed the excavation of the pit on such lot for such septic tank. The pit was approximately six feet wide running north and south and twelve feet long running east and west, and [674]*674on its south and west sides large and steep mounds of earth sloped directly into the pit. The pit sat unused from November 1, 1951, until after December 14, 1951, and during such interim water had been allowed and permitted by defendants to accumulate in it to a depth of six feet. The pit was located on such real estate about 125 feet from Fairfax Road and about 125 feet from Keystone Avenue, in a residential district having a large number of children residing in and near the real estate owned by appellant corporation. All during the time of construction, large numbers of children were attracted to and accustomed to playing on said lot and around the pit and mounds of earth on its south and west side. On and prior to December 14, 1951, the pit with its mounds of dirt and accumulated water had frozen, was covered with snow, was an artificial condition not found in nature, was latently and inherently dangerous to children, particularly children of six years of age who did not and could not appreciate such danger on account of their youth, and constituted an attractive nuisance to children.

Appellant further alleges that appellee insurance corporation could have eliminated such dangers by leveling the pit, posting signs, erecting fences or pumping out the water for $10.00 or less, with no loss of the use of said lot or pit and that all of the foregoing facts were known to the appellees and each of them.

Appellant further alleges that on December 14, 1951, about 4:30 P.M. as dusk was falling Stephen Harness left his home approximately 150 yards southeast of the pit and went to the pit to play on the mounds of dirt around it, unaware of the latent dangers of the pit on such date, subsequently while playing on the mounds of dirt around the pit he slid or slipped onto the [675]*675ice in the pit which broke under his weight and he drowned in the water of the pit.

Appellant in rhetorical paragraph eleven of his amended complaint alleges nine specific acts of negligence on the part of appellees, which paagraph reads as follows:

“11. The death of Stephen Harness as herein-before alleged, was directly and proximately caused by the negligent acts of the defendants, and each of them:
“1. Negligently excavating a pit of the size and dimensions of the Pit, and permitting the same to become negligently filled with water.
“2. Negligently permitting said above described Pit to remain filled with water.
“3. Negligently failing to post any signs of warning of the dangers upon said premises.
“4. Negligently failing to post signs forbidding trespassers.
“5. Negligently failing to remove said latent danger, inherent in the Pit as alleged above, or take proper steps to remove same, it being in such a negligent and dangerous condition for approximately six (6) weeks.
“6. Negligently failing to provide a suitable covering for the top of said Pit.
“7. Negligently permitting the mounds of dirt to be placed on certain sides of the Pit with a straight drop-off into the Pit filled with water.
“8. Negligently failing to maintain a fence of [or] other proper means of guarding the Pit.
“9. Negligently failing to warn children of tender ages of the hidden dangers on said premises.”

Appellant further alleges that at the time of his death Stephen Harness was a healthy, intelligent boy, and that the proximate cause of the death of such child was [676]*676due to the negligence of the appellees, and each of them, and that thereby appellant has been deprived of the services and earnings of said child to appellant’s damage in the sum of $20,000.

On the 7th day of September 1956, the appellees, Churchmembers Life Insurance Company and Glen Ash-more, filed the following demurrer to appellant’s amended complaint, which omitting the formal parts, reads as follows:

“Come now the defendants Churchmembers Life Insurance Company and Glen Ashmore and separately and severally demur to plaintiff’s amended complaint for the reason that said amended complaint does not state facts, sufficient to constitute a cause of action against these defendants.
“MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF DEMURRER
“Plaintiff’s amended complaint does not state a cause of action against these defendants for each of the following reasons:
“1. The facts alleged therein do not establish the artifically [artificially] created pit was an attractive nuisance.
“2. The facts alleged show that the plaintiff’s decedent was a trespasser upon the land of the defendant Churchmembers Life Insurance Company.
“3. The facts alleged do not show that the pit described therein was inherently dangerous.
“4. The facts alleged do not show that the pit described therein created an unreasonable risk to children of tender years.”

On the 8th day of January, 1958, the appellee, George F. Kopetsky, filed his demurrer to appellant’s amended complaint, which omitting the formal parts, reads as follows:

[677]*677“Comes now the defendant George F. Kopetsky and demurrers to the plaintiff’s complaint for the following reasons:
“1. That said complaint does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against this defendant.
“MEMORANDUM
“Plaintiff’s complaint attempts to set up sufficient facts to base his cause of action on the legal principals of attractive nuisance but the facts alleged show that the doctrine is inapplicable here.

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Harness v. Churchmembers Life Insurance Co.
175 N.E.2d 132 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1961)

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Bluebook (online)
175 N.E.2d 132, 241 Ind. 672, 1961 Ind. LEXIS 186, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harness-v-churchmembers-life-insurance-co-ind-1961.