Square D Co. v. Hayson

621 So. 2d 1373, 1993 WL 242661
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJuly 2, 1993
Docket91-3805, 92-1457
StatusPublished

This text of 621 So. 2d 1373 (Square D Co. v. Hayson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Square D Co. v. Hayson, 621 So. 2d 1373, 1993 WL 242661 (Fla. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

621 So.2d 1373 (1993)

SQUARE D Company, a Delaware Corporation, Appellant,
v.
George W. Hayson and Louise Hayson, Appellees.

Nos. 91-3805, 92-1457.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

July 2, 1993.

*1374 Julius F. Parker, Jr. of Parker, Skelding, Labasky & Corry, Tallahassee, Bruce M. Allman and Laurie J. Nicholson of Thompson, Hine and Flory, Dayton, Ohio, for appellant.

Robert L. Hinkle of Aurell, Radey, Hinkle, Thomas & Beranek, Tallahassee; C. David Fonvielle of Fonvielle & Hinkle, Tallahassee, for appellees.

SMITH, Judge.

In this consolidated appeal, Square D seeks reversal of a final judgment awarding damages to the Haysons in their products liability suit. Square D also seeks reversal of the trial court's order denying Square D's motion for post-verdict juror interviews. We agree with the trial court that the facts alleged in Square D's motion failed to state legally sufficient reasons to interview the jurors, and we affirm without further comment the appeal in Case No. 92-1457. Baptist Hospital of Miami, Inc. v. Maler, 579 So.2d 97 (Fla. 1991); Raybun and Partners v. Ashoka Enterprises, 604 So.2d 1284 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992); Orange County v. Piper, 585 So.2d 1182 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991); and Phares v. Froehlich, 582 So.2d 683 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). After a thorough review of the facts and applicable law, we likewise affirm the judgment for the Haysons finding that the court properly submitted the negligence issues to the jury.

Square D is a large electrical equipment manufacturing company. Lewis & Thompson, an electrical contractor and George Hayson's employer, was engaged to do the electrical work on the Florida lottery building. In furtherance of this project, Lewis & Thompson purchased from Square D, through a distributor, an end tap box, busway and fusible disconnect switches, among other things.

The end tap box is a rectangular box roughly equivalent in size to two large suitcases stacked flat, one on top of the other. The busway is a combination of sections, each up to 10 feet tall and weighing 250 pounds. Each fusible disconnect switch is designed to be mounted on factory-cut notches located on the busway. In the lottery building, these busway sections were connected on top of each other to form a 48-foot tall structure. The combined 48-foot busway was mounted to the top of the end tap box and ran vertically through all four floors.

The busway system, properly installed, is designed to distribute electricity throughout the building. In operation, the end tap box takes electricity from a source and conveys it to the busway. The busway in turn makes electricity available on each floor of the building. Access to the electricity conveyed by the busway is available by mounting one or more fusible disconnect switches to the busway on each floor. A transformer is wired to the disconnect switch, making usable electricity available on each floor.

The busway manufactured by Square D is designed for use either vertically or horizontally. In the lottery building, the busway was installed vertically. On each segment of the busway appears the word "TOP," which indicates which side of the busway must be on top when the busway is installed horizontally. When the busway is installed vertically, it is mandatory that the word "TOP" be placed on the right side of the busway, a requirement which, it will be seen, could produce disastrous consequences if overlooked. The installation instructions for the busway contain the caveat that when the busway is mounted vertically, it must be positioned so that the "TOP" marking is to the right, and the neutral position is to the left. If placed so that the word "TOP" is on the left, the *1375 busway is backwards and dangerous when charged with electric current. While the installation instructions contain the caveat about proper alignment of the busway when placed vertically, there is no instruction or marking on the busway itself warning the installer that the word "TOP" should be on the right, and there is no indication on the equipment itself, either on the end tap box or busway, advising the installer of the proper orientation. Of further importance is the fact that the installation instructions were not shipped with the end tap box or busway, and no instructions shipped with these pieces contain the above-mentioned caveat. Square D did provide these installation instructions or "shop drawings" to Lewis & Thompson, but they were apparently in a trailer on the job site.[1]

When the busway is properly installed vertically — with the label "TOP" on the right — the fusible disconnect switch can be mounted right side up on the busway. Mounted right side up, the fusible disconnect switch works as intended. When the busway is installed backwards (as occurred in this case), with the label "TOP" on the left, the fusible disconnect switch will fit on the front of the busway upside down. There is no label on the 100-amp fusible disconnect switch indicating which orientation is upside down and which is right side up, or the proper orientation of the busway.

When the 100-amp fusible disconnect switch is installed upside down — the only way in which it can be installed on the front of a backwards-installed busway — an extremely dangerous condition results. In this orientation, the "neutral" position on the switch is not neutral, but is instead "hot," carrying 277 volts of electricity. When the switch is turned off — which should make it safe to work in the box — the "neutral" position remains electrically charged.

In the process of installing the electrical equipment in the lottery building, unidentified Lewis & Thompson employees improperly connected the busway riser to the end tap box so that the word "TOP" was on the left, instead of the right. On the basement floor of the building another worker, also unidentified, installed the 100-amp fusible disconnect switch upside down — which was the only way it could be mounted on the backwards busway.

On December 30, 1987, George Hayson was asked to work on the fusible disconnect switch on the basement floor. He noticed that something seemed wrong with the switch because the load and line sides were swapped. He turned the switch off and checked the switch phases for the presence of current and found none. He did not check the neutral, however, which he assumed to be, but which was not, uncharged.[2] When Hayson began to wire the neutral, using a metal wrench, an electric arc formed and electricity passed through Hayson's arm and out his back. As a result, Hayson suffered injury to his arm and subsequent brain damage. Although he returned to work for Lewis & Thompson, his return to employment was temporary. Shortly thereafter, he left his employment and has not been able to hold steady employment since.

A week after Hayson's accident, a Square D representative inspected the work site where Hayson was injured. He discovered that on two floors above where Hayson had been working, Square D's *1376 equipment had been modified. New notches had been cut on the busway riser to allow the disconnect switches to be installed right side up rather than upside down. In this orientation, the neutral position was neutral and the switch worked properly.[3]

It is not clear from the evidence whether these modifications at the other floor levels were done before or after Hayson's accident. It is clear, however, that these notches were cut only in the sections of the busway on the building's third and fourth levels, and not on the floor where Hayson was working.

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Bluebook (online)
621 So. 2d 1373, 1993 WL 242661, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/square-d-co-v-hayson-fladistctapp-1993.