Roton v. Vernon E. Faulconer, Inc.

966 So. 2d 790, 2007 WL 2850543
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 3, 2007
Docket42,452-CA to 42,454-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 966 So. 2d 790 (Roton v. Vernon E. Faulconer, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roton v. Vernon E. Faulconer, Inc., 966 So. 2d 790, 2007 WL 2850543 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

966 So.2d 790 (2007)

Chris ROTON, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
VERNON E. FAULCONER, INC., Defendant-Appellee.
Edith Reneé Roton, Individually and as Natural Tutrix of her Minor Son, Michael Lee Roton, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Vernon E. Faulconer, Inc. and Tommy D. Stewart, Defendants-Appellees.
Chris Roton, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
T & R Stewart, Inc., Defendant-Appellee.

Nos. 42,452-CA to 42,454-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

October 3, 2007.

*791 Houck & Riggle, L.L.C. by Tracy W. Houck, Ruston, Ronald L. Riggle, for Appellant, Edith Reneé Roton.

Dollar Laird, L.L.P. by Johnny E. Dollar, Monroe, for Appellant, Chris Roton.

Hudson, Potts & Bernstein, L.L.P., by Gordon L. James, Monroe, Donald H. Zeigler, III, for Appellees, Tommy D. Stewart & T & R Stewart, Inc.

Mayer, Smith & Roberts, L.L.P., by Caldwell Roberts, Jr., Shreveport, for Appellee, Vernon E. Faulconer, Inc.

Before BROWN, WILLIAMS and GASKINS, JJ.

GASKINS, J.

The parents of a 15-year-old boy, who was killed while trespassing on a pumping unit, appeal from the granting of summary judgment in favor of the operators of the well. We affirm.

FACTS

On June 25, 2003, Michael Roton and Colby Moon went by four-wheeler to a pumping unit on property near McCullen Road in rural Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. In the weeks since the end of the school year, the boys had devised a game whereby they removed metal rods from the fence surrounding the pumping unit and placed them in holes on the counterweight. They then held onto the rods or pins in an effort to be lifted or slung in the air when the counterweight moved upward. On this day, Michael took a metal bar and balanced it on top of a pin the boys had stuck in the counterweight. As he was raised in the air, he let go of one end and fell. Michael was then struck in the torso by the counterweight. The boys returned to the home of Michael's father. Prior to their arrival there, they agreed to lie that Michael's injures were sustained in a four-wheeler accident. Michael was transported by ambulance to a hospital where he died of internal injuries. When questioned by the police after Michael's death, Colby *792 told the truth about how Michael was injured.

In August 2003, Michael's father, Chris Roton, filed a wrongful death and survival action against Vernon E. Faulconer, Inc., a Texas corporation which allegedly owned and operated the oil well site ("Faulconer"). He alleged negligence, strict liability, and attractive nuisance. Although removed to federal court on the defendant's motion due to diversity jurisdiction, the case was eventually remanded back to state court following the addition of a Louisiana defendant. In April 2004, the father filed an amended complaint adding Tommy D. Stewart, a Louisiana resident, as a defendant. Stewart was alleged to have entered into an operating agreement with Faulconer, which covered the well site at issue.

In April 2004, Edith Reneé Roton, Michael's mother, filed suit, individually and as Michael's natural tutrix, in state court against Faulconer and Stewart. She also alleged negligence, strict liability, and attractive nuisance. In June 2004, Stewart filed an answer in which he stated that T & R Stewart, Inc. entered into the operating agreement with Faulconer. He also asserted that Michael was solely at fault in trespassing on the well site, vandalizing the fence surrounding the well site, climbing over the surrounding fence, and playing on the pumping unit despite the posted danger signs. Stewart filed a similar answer in the father's lawsuit.

In June 2004, the father filed suit in state court against T & R Stewart, Inc., alleging the same basis as his prior suit. In its answer, T & R Stewart, Inc., again stated that Michael was solely at fault.

In November 2004, the parties jointly moved to consolidate the three cases. The motion was granted.

In June 2005, Faulconer filed a motion for summary judgment. It asserted that a guardrail was in front of the counterweight to prevent accidental contact with it and that warning signs were on the guardrail. It further contended that the 15-year-old decedent trespassed on the pumping unit and constructed an unstable hand grip in order to be lifted in the air while playing on the unit. Faulconer asserted that the boy knew that he had engaged in reckless behavior, as demonstrated by the fact that he and his friend fabricated a false story about how he was injured. In support of the motion, Faulconer attached the depositions of 14-year-old Colby Moon, who was present when the decedent was injured, and Heath Mullins, the decedent's 14-year-old stepbrother, who recounted playing at the accident site with Michael and Colby a week or two before the fatal incident. Heath indicated that on that occasion, the boys hid the four-wheeler so no one would see them near the pumping unit. That day Heath fell and hit the fence; after that, he never played on the unit again.

Also submitted in support of Faulconer's motion for summary judgment was the affidavit of William Griffin, a registered professional engineer who owned and operated an oil and gas consulting business. He stated that the pumping unit at issue here was equipped with a three-rail guardrail, which exceeded standard industry practice and protected against accidental contact with rotating counterweights. The pumping unit also had conspicuously displayed warning signs. Griffin stated that the nearest residence to the well site was 450 feet away and that the pumping unit was 208 feet from the road.

In July 2005, Tommy D. Stewart and T & R Stewart, Inc., also filed a motion for summary judgment. Stewart asserted that, operating as T & R Stewart, Inc., he *793 was an independent contractor providing periodic maintenance service for Faulconer; as such, he was not responsible for the design, safety or signage of the oil well equipment. He further contended that the accident was caused by the decedent's reckless and grossly negligent conduct. These defendants adopted the arguments and facts set forth by Faulconer in its motion for summary judgment. They also attached excerpts of Heath Mullins' deposition testimony in which he admitted that he fell and was injured the first time he played on the pumping unit, that he never did it again, that Michael witnessed his accident, and that he and the other boys hid when they saw someone drive by the well. They also presented deposition excerpts from the decedent's brother Christopher in which he stated that a chainlink fence would not have been a deterrent to him accessing the pumping unit unless it had razor wire on the top. Christopher said he never paid attention to the signs on the pumping unit until after his brother died. The decedent's mother stated in her deposition that Michael lied about how he was injured because he knew he would be in trouble if his father found out that he had been on the pumping unit.

In April 2006, the decedent's father filed an opposition to the motions for summary judgment. In support of his opposition, he filed an affidavit and report from Edward Ziegler, a consulting petroleum engineer and safety consultant. According to Ziegler, it is well known in the oil and gas industry that children in rural Louisiana play in the fields and woods near their homes and that being struck by moving equipment is a recognized hazard. Also, a properly designed, constructed and installed guard on a pumping unit cannot be moved by young people.

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

Related

Wall v. Kelly Oil & Gas Company, Inc.
27 So. 3d 1071 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)
Ables v. Minvielle
22 So. 3d 1129 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)
Ronald Ables v. Frank C. Minvielle
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009
Solow v. Heard McElroy & Vestal, L.L.P.
7 So. 3d 1269 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
966 So. 2d 790, 2007 WL 2850543, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roton-v-vernon-e-faulconer-inc-lactapp-2007.