Millender v. Southern Rock, Inc.

598 So. 2d 1354, 1992 Ala. LEXIS 531, 1992 WL 92422
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedMay 8, 1992
Docket1901945
StatusPublished

This text of 598 So. 2d 1354 (Millender v. Southern Rock, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Millender v. Southern Rock, Inc., 598 So. 2d 1354, 1992 Ala. LEXIS 531, 1992 WL 92422 (Ala. 1992).

Opinion

INGRAM, Justice.

The plaintiff appeals from a summary judgment entered in favor of the defendant, Southern Rock, Inc., in a wrongful death action.

Southern Rock contracted with the Army Corps of Engineers to improve or channelize the bed of Eslava Creek downstream from the southern edge of the bridge/culvert under Government Boulevard in Mobile. Neither party disputes that the work of Southern Rock did not alter the roadway or the culvert in any way.

Shortly after Southern Rock began its work, Tyrone LeBaron Millender (“the decedent”) was killed when the car in which he was riding slid across Government Boulevard and down the culvert, landing in the creek bed near where Southern Rock was working. Alice Marie Millender, the personal representative of Tyrone, brought a wrongful death action against Southern Rock, alleging that Southern Rock’s failure to erect guardrails, barricades, and/or other safety devices on Government Boulevard where it crosses Eslava Creek caused the decedent’s death. She alleged that Southern Rock had a duty to erect such safety devices and that its failure to do so constituted negligence and/or breach of contract.

Southern Rock moved for a summary judgment, which was entered by the trial court. Millender appeals.

[1356]*1356A summary judgment is appropriate upon a showing that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Rule 56, A.R.Civ.P. In reviewing a summary judgment, this Court will view the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmovant and will resolve all reasonable doubts against the movant. Fincher v. Robinson Bros. Lincoln-Mercury, Inc., 583 So.2d 256 (Ala.1991). The present action was filed after June 11, 1987; therefore, the applicable standard of review is the “substantial evidence rule.” See § 12-21-12, Ala.Code 1975. “[Substantial evidence is evidence of such weight and quality that fair-minded persons in the exercise of impartial judgment can reasonably infer the existence of the fact sought to be proved.” West v. Founders Life Assurance Co. of Florida, 547 So.2d 870, 871 (Ala.1989).

Millender alleges two causes of action: one based on breach of contract and one based on negligence. The breach of contract action involves the alleged breach of the employment contract between the Army Corps of Engineers and Southern Rock. Specifically, Millender alleges that the general public was a third-party beneficiary to the contract between Southern Rock and the Army Corps of Engineers.

To support her contention, she cites this Court to those provisions of the contract related to safety requirements and accident prevention. For example:

“Warning signs shall be placed to provide adequate warning of hazards to workers and the public. Signs shall be removed or covered when the hazards no longer exist.
[[Image here]]
“The Contractor shall, without additional expense to the Government, be responsible for obtaining any necessary licenses and permits, and for complying with any Federal, State, and municipal laws, codes, and regulations applicable to the performance of the work. The Contractor shall also be responsible for all damages to persons or property that occur as a result of the Contractor’s fault or negligence, and shall take proper safety and health precautions to protect the work, the workers, the public, and the property of others.
[[Image here]]
“56. ACCIDENT PREVENTION (ALTERNATE I) (1984 APR) FAR 52.236-13
“(a) In performing this contract, the Contractor shall provide for protecting the lives and health of employees and other persons; preventing damage to property, materials, supplies, and equipment; and avoiding work interruptions. For these purposes, the Contractor shall—
“(1) Provide appropriate safety barricades, signs, and signal lights....”

This Court has stated, however, that such a construction contract does not give the general public a right of enforcement. In Evans v. Patterson, 269 Ala. 250, 112 So.2d 194 (1959), this Court stated that the plaintiff was entitled to the duty of care indicated in the contract between the State Highway Department and the contractor, which in that case included placing warning signals at a dangerous intersection of a highway constructed by the defendant contractor and an existing state highway. The contract between the State Highway Department and the defendant contained the following provisions:

“ ‘The contractor shall take all necessary precautions for the protection [and] safety of the public.
“When such opening to traffic is required or permitted by the engineer, the contractor shall make such provisions for the safety of the public as herein specified.
“Whenever traffic is maintained through or over any part of the project the contractor shall clearly mark all traffic hazards.
“Also, without extra compensation, the contractor shall provide suitable ... or other danger signs.
“And shall take all necessary precautions for ... the safety of the public.’ ”

Id., 269 Ala. at 254, 112 So.2d at 197.

The Court went on to hold:

[1357]*1357“Of course the plaintiff has no right to sue on the contract. That is an agreement between the State of Alabama and the contractor. The various items in the contract to which the court is referring may be looked to to determine whether there was any duty on the part of the defendant to the plaintiff and as we have undertaken to show, there was a duty, until performance of the contract was accepted, on the contractor to put warning signs at the dangerous intersection involved in this case.”

Id., 269 Ala. at 267, 112 So.2d at 200.

Millender argues that certain provisions in Southern Rock’s contract — stating that Southern Rock is to provide protection for the lives and health of “employees and other persons” and that it is to provide adequate warnings of hazards to “workers and the public” — are similar to those in Evans and create a right of action in her decedent as a third-party beneficiary. As stated above, the provisions of the contract are enforceable only as between the parties to the contract. It is not a third-party beneficiary contract, intended for the benefit of persons such as Millender’s decedent. Under Alabama law, as stated in Evans, Millender has no right to sue on the contract between the Army Corps of Engineers and Southern Rock. The provisions at issue, however, may be evidence of the scope of Southern Rock’s common law duty.

The common law duty applicable in Alabama has been stated as follows:

“[A]ll the cases ... in which a party is sought to be charged on the ground that he has caused a way or other place to be incumbered or suffered it to be in a dangerous condition, whereby accident and injury have been occasioned to another, turn on the principle that negligence consists in doing or omitting to do an act by which a legal duty has been violated.”

Wunderlich v. Franklin, 100 F.2d 164

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Fincher v. Robinson Bros. Lincoln-Mercury
583 So. 2d 256 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1991)
Evans v. Patterson
112 So. 2d 194 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1959)
West v. Founders Life Assur. Co. of Florida
547 So. 2d 870 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1989)
Wunderlich v. Franklin
100 F.2d 164 (Fifth Circuit, 1938)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
598 So. 2d 1354, 1992 Ala. LEXIS 531, 1992 WL 92422, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/millender-v-southern-rock-inc-ala-1992.