Saylor v. Enterprise Electric Co.

222 P. 304, 110 Or. 231, 1924 Ore. LEXIS 194
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 22, 1924
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 222 P. 304 (Saylor v. Enterprise Electric Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Saylor v. Enterprise Electric Co., 222 P. 304, 110 Or. 231, 1924 Ore. LEXIS 194 (Or. 1924).

Opinion

BROWN, J.

The evidence contained in the record proves that the plaintiff’s intestate was accidentally killed while entering upon a public highway which was encumbered with defendant’s transmission lines carrying a dangerous current of electricity. We assume that the defendant’s lines were lawfully within the highway. However, it had no right to interfere with the reasonable use of that road by Saylor in transporting a farming implement over it. There is much uncontroverted evidence in the record supporting plaintiff’s allegation that it was a well-established custom among the farmers of the Prairie Creek country to move from field to field and from [239]*239ranch to ranch over the public highway, hay derricks of the size, dimensions and character of the derrick that was being transported by Saylor at the time of the accident.

As was said by the Supreme Court of California in a similar case:

“It was the duty of the defendant to ascertain this fact and to have erected its wires high’enough so as to permit free and safe passage of said derricks under them, and to prevent danger.” Fairbairn v. American River Elec. Co., 179 Cal. 157 (175 Pac. 637).

To similar effect, see Godfrey v. Kansas City L. & P. Co. (Mo.), 253 S. W. 233.

“In all cases wherein * * electric light and power * * companies obtain and exercise the privilege of erecting and maintaining poles, wires, lamps and other appliances in the public streets, they are bound to know that the maintenance of such appliances in and about the highway may create dangers to persons exercising the primary and paramount right of passage along or across the same. The companies are not insurers of the safety of the public against all dangers arising from the lawful placing in the street of the appliances pertaining to the business carried on by the companies, but they are bound to know the dangers which may naturally be caused by such use of the streets and to guard against them by the exercise of all the foresight and caution which can be reasonably expected of prudent men under such circumstances.” 1 Joyce on Electric Law (2 ed.), § 438.

The defendant company, in using the county road along the McCully ranch for the transmission of electricity, was under duty to exercise care as to the location and construction of its lines, and so to use and maintain such lines as not to injure persons using the highway. Notwithstanding this duty, the [240]*240defendant permitted its lines to sag at the McCully gateway, where Saylor was killed.

“It is the duty of an electric company to watch with reasonable care and diligence its wires and poles, and to prevent them from getting into such a condition or position as to endanger the safety of persons using the highway.” 2 Elliott, Eoads and Streets, §1071.

In Carroll v. Grande Ronde Electric Co., 47 Or. 424 (84 Pac. 389, 6 L. R. A. (N. S.) 290), we read:

“Electricity is a natural force, the power of which is fully comprehended only by experts.”

In Greenwood v. Eastern Oregon Power Co., 67 Or. 433, 442 (136 Pac. 336), the injured person was moving a hay derrick ten feet higher than the one in the case at bar. In that case, Mr. Chief Justice McBride, in discussing the care required of a power company in the construction and maintenance of its wires, wrote:

“The measure of care required of defendant is well stated in Shank v. Great Shoshone etc. Water Power Co. (C. C. A.), 205 Fed. 833, which was a case arising, as did the one at bar, from a hay derrick having come in contact with an electric wire.
“Judge Morrow, referring to the defendant in that case, said: ‘It was clearly its duty to have used every reasonable precaution to raise and keep its high power transmission wires sufficiently high above ground for the safe passage of such structures as the plaintiff was engaged in moving at the time and place he was injured. Such structures were common to that locality. It was not of unusual height, and its passage along the highway over the bridge was to be expected at any time.’ To the same effect are Perham v. Portland General Elec. Co., 33 Or. 451 (53 Pac. 14, 24, 72 Am. St. Rep. 730, 40 L. R. A. 799); Fitzgerald v. Edison Elec. Mfg. Co., 200 Pa. 540 (50 Atl. 161, 86 Am. St. Rep. 732); Ermis v. Gray, 70 Hun, 462 (24 N. Y. Supp. 379).”

[241]*241In Gentzkow v. Portland Ry. Co., 54 Or. 114 (102 Pac. 614, 135 Am. St. Rep. 821), it is said:

“The defendant employing in its business an agency so deadly and dangerous as electricity is held to exercise the utmost degree of care in the construction, maintenance, inspection and repair of its wires so as to keep them harmless at places where persons are liable to come in contact with them. ’ ’

Prom Clayton v. Enterprise Electric Co., 82 Or. 149 (161 Pac. 411), we quote:

“The care demanded of electric companies must be commensurate with the danger, and where their wires are carrying a high and dangerous current of electricity, the law imposes upon the company the utmost degree of care in the construction, inspection and repair, so as to keep them in a safe condition at places where persons are liable to come in contact with them. ’ ’

In the leading case of Perliam v. Portland E. Co., 33 Or. 451, 478 (53 Pac. 14, 24, 72 Am. St. Rep. 730, 40 L. R. A. 799), the court said:

“Where their wires are designed to carry a strong and powerful current of electricity, so that persons coming in contact with them are certain to be seriously injured, if not killed, the law imposes upon the company the duty of exercising the utmost care and prudence to prevent such injury; and whether such care has been exercised in a given case is ordinarily for the jury.”

Tl: ere was ample evidence from which the jury could find that defendant was negligent.

The only difficult point in this cause is the question of contributory negligence raised by the defendant.

While the electric company owed a duty of reasonable care to protect Saylor from harm arising from the construction and maintenance of the trans[242]*242mission lines at the point where the injury was inflicted upon him, he was likewise in duty bound to use reasonable care for his own protection.

The defendant pleads that Saylor was guilty of contributory negligence. The plea is denied by the reply. Upon this issue the defendant has the affirmative.

Are the established facts and circumstances surrounding the accident so plain and clear that this court can say, as a matter of law, that Saylor was guilty of contributory negligence?

In the case of Toney v. Interstate Power Co., 180 Iowa, 1362 (163 N. W. 394), the Supreme Court of Iowa wrote the following concerning contributory negligence as a matter of law:

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

Related

Farmer's Direct, Inc. v. Dept. of Rev.
24 Or. Tax 399 (Oregon Tax Court, 2021)
Rickard v. Ellis
368 P.2d 396 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1962)
Copenhagen, Inc. v. KRAMER ET UX
356 P.2d 1064 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1960)
Hillman v. Northern Wasco County PUD
323 P.2d 664 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1958)
Inman v. Ollson
321 P.2d 1043 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1958)
Birks v. East Side Transfer Co.
241 P.2d 120 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1952)
Koski v. Anderson
71 P.2d 1009 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1937)
Keys v. Griffith
55 P.2d 15 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1936)
Brunell v. Mountain States Power Co.
81 F.2d 305 (Ninth Circuit, 1936)
Laird v. Frick
18 P.2d 1029 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1933)
Sullivan v. Mountain States Power Co.
9 P.2d 1038 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1932)
Mitchell v. Bruening
9 P.2d 811 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1932)
Kohanek v. Rudie Wilhelm Warehouse Co.
276 P. 693 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1929)
Nickolopolus v. Frank
276 P. 695 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1929)
Simmons v. Friede Investment Co.
266 P. 910 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1928)
Morser v. Southern Pacific Co.
262 P. 252 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1927)
Loney v. Laramie Auto Co.
255 P. 350 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1927)
Cooper v. North Coast Power Co.
245 P. 317 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1926)
Bergholtz v. City of Oregon City.
240 P. 225 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1925)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
222 P. 304, 110 Or. 231, 1924 Ore. LEXIS 194, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/saylor-v-enterprise-electric-co-or-1924.