Walker v. Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson, Inc.

412 S.W.2d 621, 242 Ark. 97, 1967 Ark. LEXIS 1209
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMarch 6, 1967
Docket5-4008
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 412 S.W.2d 621 (Walker v. Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walker v. Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson, Inc., 412 S.W.2d 621, 242 Ark. 97, 1967 Ark. LEXIS 1209 (Ark. 1967).

Opinions

CoNLey Byrd, Justice.

The original opinion in this case was delivered December 5, 1966, Walker v. Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson, Inc., 241 Ark. 525. Appellee, Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson, Inc., hereinafter referred to as “architect,” is the only petitioner for a rehearing. The only issue1 before us is whether there was a contractual obligation upon the architect to be present continuously during construction of the funeral home where appellant, Robert Walker, a brickmason, was. injured. We hold that the architect had no such contractual duty and that he had no duty to prescribe safety precautions for the contractor or to enforce performance of the safety provisions contained in the contract between the owner and the contractor, to which he was not a party.

The trial court, at the conclusion of appellant’s evidence, directed a verdict in favor of the architect, hence the facts, viewed in the light most favorable to appellant, will be stated as if they were true even though some of them were controverted.

The facts giving rise to this litigation show that Ruebel and Company employed the archit*ect to design a funeral home on West Markham Street in Little Rock. The design for the outer walls called for precast concrete panels ten feet high, eight feet wide and three inches thick, to be backed on the inside by light aggregate blocks. This design was adopted after the architect submitted his preliminary drawings and comments to the manufacturer of the panels because of the latter’s superior knowledge, and then revised the design pursuant to the manufacturer’s suggested changes. Upon the architect’s plans and specifications, Ruebel and Company let the contract for construction to Cone & Stowers, appellant’s employer.

At the time of the accident, appellant was laying light aggregate blocks behind the precast concrete panels. After the blocks had been laid on the east wall of the building to within two courses of the top, the braces holding the panels upright were removed to permit the top two courses to be laid. While the braces were being removed, appellant was standing on top of the wall, plumbing it. As the last brace was removed, the wall fell outward, causing appellant’s injuries.

Appellant and his. immediate supervisor both stated they did not know that the wall, without the braces, was dangerous or unstable. The west wall, identical to the east wall and from which the braces were removed before the accident involved here, stood a matter of days without falling. The architect admits the wall on which appellant was. standing was a free standing wall without the braces., i. e., not stable, and that it would have a tendency to fall toward the outside. The wall was designed to be later tied into the roof for stability.

It is not contended that the architect knew the braces were being removed from the wall. The architect admittedly performed no supervisory activities, in connection with the building of the funeral home. Apparently, the architect did inspect the premises from time to time.

It is the contention of appellant that the architect agreed with the owner to supervise and inspect the building, was paid a fee for it, and had á definite duty to supervise the work, including the responsibility of taking steps to secure the safety of workmen such as appellant. The architect’s contention is that his duty was to supervise and inspect only to the end that when completed the building would conform to the plans and specifications and the Little Rock Building Code, and there was no duty upon him to exercise control over ineans and methods adopted by the contractor which did mot affect the end result, i. e., there was no duty upon him to direct or control the contractor in reference to the temporary support of the precast panels during construction.

The actual agreement between the owner and the architect was oral. Gordon Wittenberg, a member of the architectural firm of Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson, Inc., and a brother to George Wittenberg, an officer and part owner of Ruebel and Company, testified there was no formal written agreement between the architect and the owner for furnishing architectural services. He stated that the architectural services included preparation of plans and specifications and periodic inspection while the building was under construction, and that while his firm prepared the plans and specifications, the building contract was let by the owner. The architect was to receive six per cent of the contract price, of which one and one half per cent was allocated to the special engineering supervision required by Section 204 of the Building Code of the City of Little Rock.

George Wittenberg, of Ruebel and Company, when asked whether Ruebel and Company had employed an architect to comply with Section 204 of the Building Code, stated:

“We employed Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson, to perform all of the duties of an architect for us and in our behalf.”

Section 204 of the Building Code provides:

“Section 204. Inspection and Special Engineering Supervision.
“The building Inspector shall inspect or cause to be inspected at various intervals during the erection, construction, enlarging, alteration, repairing, moving, demolition, conversion, occupancy and underpinning all buildings and structures, referred to in this Code and located in the City of Little Rock, and a final inspection shall be made of every building and structure hereafter erected prior to the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy as specified in Section 206.
“No building construction, alteration, repair or demolition requiring a building permit shall be commenced until the permit holder or his agent shall have posted the building permit card in a conspicuous place on the front premises. The permit card shall be maintained in such position by the permit holder until the Certificate of Occupancy has been issued by the Building Inspector.
“The Building Inspector upon notification from the permit holder or his agent shall make the following inspections of buildings and either shall approve that portion of the construction as completed or shall notify the permit holder or his agent wherein the same fails to comply with the law.
“Foundation Inspection-. To be made after trenches are excavated and the necessary forms erected, steel placed and when representative samples of all materials for the foundation are delivered on the* job.
“Frame Inspection: To be made after the roof, all framing, fire-blocking and bracing is in place and all pipes, chimneys and vents are complete.
“Final Inspection: To be made after building is completed and ready for occupancy.
“No work shall be done on any part of the building or structure beyond the point indicated in each successive inspection without first obtaining the written approval of the Building Inspector. Such written approval shall be given only after an inspection shall have been made of each successive step in the construction as indicated by each of the above inspections.

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Bluebook (online)
412 S.W.2d 621, 242 Ark. 97, 1967 Ark. LEXIS 1209, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walker-v-wittenberg-delony-davidson-inc-ark-1967.