Home/California Court of Appeal/Spencer v. Beatty Safway Scaffold Co.

Spencer v. Beatty Safway Scaffold Co.

297 P.2d 746, 141 Cal. App. 2d 875, 1956 Cal. App. LEXIS 1932
California Court of Appeal·Decided May 28, 1956·No. Civ. 21094·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

MOORE, P. J.

Only two questions are posed by this appeal: (1) Was the evidence against the corporate defendant sufficient to justify an inference that it was guilty of actionable negligence or did it warrant a judgment for such defendant verddcto non obstante*! (2) Was the evidence against the other defendants so devoid of substance as to warrant the granting of their motions for a nonsuit?

Appellant sued for damages allegedly resulting from bodily injuries suffered by him while standing on a bleacher which had been designed by respondents Mackintosh and Mackintosh, engineers, employed by respondent Beatty Safway Scaffold Company, a corporation, herein referred to as “Beatty.” The general contractor for constructing a gymnasium building at the Belvedere Junior High School was Arthur Pinner, Jr., whose contract included the installation of the automatically operated bleachers. The installation of the bleachers began January 28, 1952. The work had been completed on April 30 when the engineers for the board of education were present and witnessed the equipment in place, and in operation. No corrections were suggested with reference to the operation or to the bleacher covers.

At the close of plaintiff’s case, motions for nonsuits by all defendants were granted except that of Beatty. A verdict *877 against it for $57,000 was set aside and a judgment notwithstanding the verdict was entered in favor of Beatty and against Spencer. Appeals were taken by plaintiff from that judgment, and also from the judgments of nonsuit granted the other defendants.

Appellant was 57 years of age. For many years prior to his accident, he had been the head physical education instructor at the Belvedere Junior High School in the city of Los Angeles. On December 16, 1952, he was in charge of the gymnasium, the bleachers and other installations. As such instructor and director, it was his duty to operate the folding bleacher devices and the retractable basketball backstops in the gymnasium. The backstops were raised and lowered by cranks inserted in winch boxes attached to the walls above the bleachers. While he was about to crank, or was in the act of cranking a backstop into place, a bleacher lid (cover) fell and struck him on the chest.

The installation of the bleachers had been completed April 30, 1952, but they were not used regularly until September. They were installed by the corporate defendant Beatty, a subcontractor under defendant Pinner. The bleachers were in six consecutive sections on the west wall of the gymnasium, about 1 inch apart and 1 inch from the wall, numbered 1 to 6 from north to south. Each section is operated separately and was so constructed as to be extended outward from the wall when the planks automatically came into place, thereby affording seating facilities for spectators. It is supported by standards on wheels. It is to be folded, or retracted, when not in use. It is extended or opened by manually pushing the wheel-supported frame forward from the wall. Then the front cover lies flat on the gymnasium floor, while the bleacher seats rest upon the extended frame; at the same time, the “lid” or top-cover is raised to a vertical position, parallel with the wall. When it is retracted, the front cover is placed so as to conceal the bleacher frame and seats from view, while the lid normally descends from its vertical position near the wall behind the retracted bleacher to become the top of a box, shutting the bleacher wholly from view. The cover or lid is made of half-inch plywood. The top or lid of the box created by closing or retracting the bleacher is of sufficient strength to prevent balls or other equipment from getting into the folded bleachers, but it is not strong enough to support heavy objects or the weight of a man. When the *878 lid is up, it stands in delicate balance, with its upper edge about 4 inches from the wall.

The Automatic Operation

This automaton is operated by the force of gravity, slightly aided by the attendant. A section has three sets of pulleys operating antagonistically. One end of the cable is securely attached to the lid; it proceeds through a pulley attached to the wall above the lid; thence it proceeds down the wall to a point below the lid through an opposing pulley; thence to a screw in the bleacher frame. When the bleacher is retracted, the cable slackens, whereupon the near-vertical lid falls into its place, covering the enclosed bleacher. That takes the slack from the cable which becomes taut again.

When the engineers for the board of education on April 30, 1952, observed the bleachers in operation, they found no fault in their construction or operation. For views of'a section extended 1 and a section retracted, 2 see the reproductions of photographs in evidence.

A New Factor Enters

The bleachers having been accepted, a new device was found essential to the gymnasium. Basketball backstops were installed. They also were put on the west side of the gymnasium. They were attached to the wall and the ceiling to be raised and lowered as required. The mechanism for operating the backstop is controlled by winch devices fastened to the wall above the bleachers and in such positions that they are above the top of the lid when it is in vertical position. The installation of the backstops and winches appears to have been an afterthought of the school board for there is no evidence that Beatty had an inkling of the plan subsequently to install the additional equipment.

How It Happened

Appellant had, prior to December 16, 1952, observed the successful operation of the bleachers. They were throughout the autumn operated successfully. On the last mentioned date he went to the top of section 6 in order to crank a winch box located above the vertical lid over section 5. While doing so, the lid of that section suddenly fell, struck appellant, knocked him off the bleachers to the floor and caused him to

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Spencer v. Beatty Safway Scaffold Co., 297 P.2d 746, 141 Cal. App. 2d 875, 1956 Cal. App. LEXIS 1932 (Cal. Ct. App. 1956).

297 P.2d 746 (Spencer v. Beatty Safway Scaffold Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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