Price Drilling Co. v. Zertuche

147 S.W.3d 483, 161 Oil & Gas Rep. 911, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 5239, 2004 WL 1335940
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 16, 2004
DocketNo. 04-03-00493-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 147 S.W.3d 483 (Price Drilling Co. v. Zertuche) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Price Drilling Co. v. Zertuche, 147 S.W.3d 483, 161 Oil & Gas Rep. 911, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 5239, 2004 WL 1335940 (Tex. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

PAUL W. GREEN, Justice.

This appeal stems from a negligence case. Appellee Jim Zertuche (“Zertuche”) filed suit against appellant and general contractor Price Drilling Company (“Price”), alleging that, while in the course and scope of his employment with an independent contractor,1 he was injured at Price’s drilling rig site when he slipped and fell climbing on his truck. Zertuche’s case was based on a general negligence theory. Following a jury trial, Price was found to have controlled the work being performed by Zertuche. The jury also found Price to have been 60% negligent and Zertuche to have been 40% negligent in terms of who was responsible for the injuries. The jury awarded damages for past and future physical pain and mental anguish, past loss of earning capacity, physical impairment, and medical care expenses in the amount of $625,000. After a deduction for Zertuche’s negligence, as well as a settlement credit of $50,000, the total sum awarded Zertuche in the judgment was $398,786.58.2 Price filed a motion to modify the judgment and, in the alternative, motions for new trial and re-mittitur. All were denied. Price now appeals, raising seven issues on appeal.

BACKGROUND

Appellee Jim Zertuche, an employee of M-I Drilling Fluids (“M-I”), received a call to deliver drilling mud to a well site controlled by Price Drilling Co. because the well was “kicking” and in danger of causing a “blowout”. In order to prevent such an occurrence, Emerico Perez (“Perez”), a Price employee, needed Zertuche to deliver additional drilling mud to the well where it could be used to decrease the danger of a blowout.

When Zertuche arrived at the drilling site, he drove his truck, which was loaded with dry drilling mud chemicals, onto the dirt pad used for offloading, approximately half a mile from the actual drilling rig. Due to recent heavy rains, the drilling site was extremely muddy, and there was standing water scattered around the site. Because of these conditions, Dale Operating Company (“Dale”), the well’s operator, had hired several bulldozers to assist in moving vehicles and equipment around the site. As he waited for assistance from one of the bulldozers, Zertuche was instructed to drive his truck as close to the site as he could. When Zertuche’s truck became [486]*486stuck in the mud, the bulldozer operator and Zertuche chained his vehicle to the bulldozer and pulled it to some mud pumps in order to unload the chemicals.

Zertuche intended to use a forklift to unload the dry drilling mud, but the area was still extremely muddy and the forklift also became stuck. Zertuche asked the bulldozer to clear some of the water off the soil, which the driver unsuccessfully attempted to do. At this point, other trucks entering the site needed assistance, so Zertuche was forced to wait as the bulldozers pulled these other vehicles to the drilling mud pits and back to the gate. Unbeknownst to Zertuche, these trucks contained previously mixed drilling mud, which could more quickly be put to use to prevent the blowout. Because of the urgency of the situation, Perez requested these trucks take precedence over Zer-tuche’s vehicle as his truck contained only dry chemicals rather than previously mixed chemicals.

After waiting at length, Zertuche decided to unload his truck by hand. He returned to his vehicle to call M-I for men to assist in the unloading. As Zertuche climbed onto a step to enter his truck, his foot slipped and he fell backward onto the ground, resulting in injury.

Negligent Activity vs. PREMISES Liability

Before we can address the basic issues surrounding a negligence claim, we must first determine whether Zertuche’s injuries resulted from an activity or from a condition of the premises. In its second issue, Price contends the trial court erred in submitting the case to the jury under a theory of negligent activity rather than under a theory of premises liability and argues that under premises liability, the jury’s finding of simple negligence does not support a recovery by Zertuche.

The existence of a duty is the threshold question in any negligence case, El Chico Corp. v. Poole, 732 S.W.2d 306, 311 (Tex.1987); Traylor Bros. Inc. v. Garcia, 49 S.W.3d 430, 434 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2001, no pet.), and it is a question of law for the court to decide from the facts surrounding the occurrence in question. Walker v. Harris, 924 S.W.2d 375, 377 (Tex.1996). Because this case deals with the relationship between a general contractor and an independent contractor, the hybrid body of law which lies at the intersection of premises liability and agency law governs this case. Clayton W. Williams, Jr., Inc. v. Olivo, 952 S.W.2d 523, 527 (Tex.1997).

An owner or occupier of land generally has a duty to use reasonable care to make and keep the premises safe for business invitees. Olivo, 952 S.W.2d at 527. A general contractor in control of the premises is charged with the same duty as an owner or occupier. Id. A general contractor in this position may be liable for two types of negligence in failing to keep the premises safe: (1) that arising from an activity on the premises; and (2) that arising from a premises defect. Id.; Redinger v. Living, Inc., 689 S.W.2d 415, 417 (Tex.1985).

In order to recover under a negligent activity theory, a person must have been injured by or as a contemporaneous result of the activity itself rather than by a condition created by the activity. Olivo, 952 S.W.2d at 527; Keetch v. Kroger Co., 845 S.W.2d 262, 264 (Tex.1992); Wal-Mart v. Bazan, 966 S.W.2d 745, 746 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 1998, no pet.). A premises liability claim, on the other hand, is a claim that the premises itself is unsafe. Bazan, 966 S.W.2d at 746. There are two types of premises defects for which the employee of an independent contractor may seek to [487]*487hold a general contractor liable. Olivo, 952 S.W.2d at 527. The first category includes those defects the independent contractor or its injured employee created by its work activity. Id. The second category includes those defects that exist on the premises when the business invitee entered for business purposes or that are created through some means unrelated to the activity of the injured employee or his employer. Id.

On appeal, Price contends the case was wrongly submitted as a negligent activity case. Price urges that the case is properly categorized as a premises liability case because the record conclusively establishes that Zertuche’s injury was caused by his slipping on mud that was either on his truck’s steps or on his own boots. Zer-tuche disagrees, claiming the case was properly submitted under a negligent activity theory.

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147 S.W.3d 483, 161 Oil & Gas Rep. 911, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 5239, 2004 WL 1335940, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/price-drilling-co-v-zertuche-texapp-2004.