Smart v. Chrysler Corp.

991 S.W.2d 737, 1999 Mo. App. LEXIS 667, 1999 WL 308585
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 18, 1999
DocketNo. 74940
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 991 S.W.2d 737 (Smart v. Chrysler Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smart v. Chrysler Corp., 991 S.W.2d 737, 1999 Mo. App. LEXIS 667, 1999 WL 308585 (Mo. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

ROBERT E. CRIST, Senior Judge.

Plaintiff, Robert Smart, brought a negligence action against the defendant, Chrysler Corporation, for injuries he sustained while working as an employee of Helm-kamp Construction, a sub-contractor for independent contractors ABB Flexible Automation and Fluor Daniel, which were doing work at one of Chrysler’s plants in Fenton, Missouri. Smart now appeals the trial court’s judgment granting Chrysler’s motion for summary judgment. We affirm.

Chrysler owns two plants in Fenton, the South Plant and the North Plant, where it. has assembled various automobiles. The South Plant was opened in 1959 and produced automobiles until 1991. In that year, the South Plant was gutted and vacated, and remained vacant for about two years. While the South Plant was vacant, Chrysler made a decision to retool it to produce a new line of mini-vans that was being designed. The retooling project was labeled the Chrysler NS Project. Chrysler sent out bid specifications to many contractors for the different aspects of the NS project and received bids from them. ABB and Fluor Daniel (ABB/FD) joined together in a joint venture and submitted a comprehensive proposal and bid to Chrysler for the paint shop portion of the retooling project.

In December of 1992, Chrysler awarded a contract to ABB/FD to design, fabricate and install paint application equipment in the South Plant. Design of the new equipment began soon thereafter and sometime in December 1993 construction began in the South Plant. At the time the retooling work began, the South Plant still stood vacant and no production activities were ongoing by Chrysler employees.

In June of 1994, ABB/FD was installing the paint shop on the second floor of the South Plant. ABB/FD hired a subcontractor, Helmkamp Construction, to assist with the erection of steel structures. Smart worked for Helmkamp. On June 12, 1994, Smart was working on the construction of a platform in the paint shop area, setting checkerplate flooring on the steel platform. While attempting to dislodge an apparatus used to set the checkerplate in place, Smart fell about 40 feet to the floor below and sustained injuries. At the time he fell, he was wearing a safety harness, but it was not tied off at any point. Generally, when working over six feet, a full body harness must be used and it must be tied off.

[740]*740On August 20, 1997, Smart filed a petition against Chrysler, alleging premises liability of Chrysler as follows:

9. That during the period of construction and/or repair, Chrysler had set forth safety guidelines and stationed safety personnel throughout the construction site, and as such, maintained substantial control over the premises, or in the alternative, had assumed the primary duty of maintaining a safe work environment.
10. That Defendant Chrysler had instructed its.safety personnel in the safety procedures and guidelines to be implemented at Fenton Plant # 2.
11. That Defendant Chrysler mandated that the safety personnel ensure that these procedures and guidelines were followed by the construction personnel at the Fenton Plant # 2 location.
12. That Defendant Chrysler knew of the dangers posed by the construction of the premises or by the use or exercise of reasonable care would have discovered the dangers posed by the construction of the premises and the Defendant should have realized that the premises involved an unreasonable risk of harm to Smart and others similarly invited to work at the construction site.
13. That the Defendant Chrysler should have expected that Plaintiff Robert Smart and others similarly situated would not discover the presence of the dangers posed by the construction or would not realize the dangers presented by said construction or would not protect themselves against the dangers posed by the construction of the premises.

On April 13, 1998, Chrysler filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that Chrysler owed no duty to Smart and particularly did not owe a duty to him to inspect for safety violations. Chrysler attached to its motion the affidavits of: (1) Deborah Lowis, Standard Products Manager for ABB Flexible Automation; (2) Wayne Goodbred, Safety Manager for ABB/FD in 1993 and 1994; and (3) Richard D. Noah, Chrysler’s Facility Manager of the South Plant. Chrysler also attached a copy of “Project Safety Rules” and Smart’s accident statement.

Following Chrysler’s motion, the parties conducted many depositions. On July 6, 1998, Smart filed a response to Chrysler’s motion for summary judgment. Smart attached depositions of Wayne Goodbred, Deborah Lowis and Brian Belanger, a construction services buyer for Chrysler. He also attached his affidavit, the “Project Safety Rules” and the “NS Chrysler Project Team Project Rules and Regulations.” Part of Smart’s contentions in his response was that no complete copy of the contract between Chrysler and ABB/FD had been forthcoming from Chrysler.

On July 17, 1998, Chrysler filed a reply to Smart’s response. Chrysler argued that Smart still had not established the requisite control by Chrysler to maintain its claim and that numerous Missouri decisions dictated summary judgment. Chrysler included in its motion the depositions of George Patterson, head of the Safety Department for Chrysler, and Bob Buhr, the program manager for the Chrysler NS project. These depositions were taken on May 12, 1998, before Smart filed his response to Chrysler’s summary judgment motion. Chrysler also included a copy of the bid specifications it had sent to contractors for the paint shop retooling and a copy of the proposal sent by ABB/FD to Chrysler. An affidavit from Brian Belan-ger indicated the ABB/FD proposal had just been located by him in storage.

On July 24, 1998, the trial court granted Chrysler’s motion for summary judgment. Smart appeals, arguing in Point I the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because genuine disputes of material fact exist and further arguing the trial court should have stricken the affidavits contained in Chrysler’s motion for summary judgment. In Point II, Smart contends the trial court should not have con[741]*741sidered Chrysler’s reply to his response because he was not given ample time to examine and prepare responses to “certain documents” which were not produced by Chrysler prior to that time.

Since Point II goes to what information the trial court should have examined in granting summary judgment, we will consider it first. Smart’s major complaint is that Chrysler included a copy of the “contract” between ABB/FD and Chrysler in its reply and not in its original motion. In referring to the “contract,” Smart appears to mean the proposal from ABB/FD to Chrysler. Smart apparently has no contention with the Chrysler bid specifications and the depositions of George Patterson and Bob Buhr (conducted by Smart prior to the filing of his response), but focuses his complaint on appeal to the proposal from ABB/FD. The parties agree that at the time Chrysler filed its motion for summary judgment, Chrysler was unable to locate a copy of this proposal.

Rule 74.04 sets forth the procedure for motions for summary judgment. This rule does not explicitly provide for nor prohibit reply briefs. However, subsection (é) provides that the “court may permit affidavits to be supplemented or opposed by depositions, answers to interrogatories, or further affidavits.” In Palermo v. Tension Envelope Corp.,

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Bluebook (online)
991 S.W.2d 737, 1999 Mo. App. LEXIS 667, 1999 WL 308585, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smart-v-chrysler-corp-moctapp-1999.