Williamson v. Cox

844 S.W.2d 95, 1992 Mo. App. LEXIS 1683, 1992 WL 319912
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 6, 1992
DocketNo. 17985
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 844 S.W.2d 95 (Williamson v. Cox) 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
Williamson v. Cox, 844 S.W.2d 95, 1992 Mo. App. LEXIS 1683, 1992 WL 319912 (Mo. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

PREWITT, Judge.

Plaintiff sought damages for personal injuries following his fall through an opening in the roof of a building under construction. A jury verdict found him entitled to $55,000 and judgment was entered in accordance with the verdict. Defendant appeals.1

Defendant asserts in his first point that the trial court erred in denying a motion for directed verdict at the close of all evidence. Defendant contends that there was no duty of care toward plaintiff because McHatton “did not have control or possession of the premises ... did not control the actions of Clarence Williamson, and plaintiff was aware of any dangerous condition that may have existed”.

[97]*97In determining whether a trial court errs in overruling a motion for directed verdict, an appellate court views the evidence most favorable to the plaintiff and gives plaintiff the benefit of all reasonable inferences which the evidence tends to support and disregards defendant’s evidence which does not aid plaintiff’s case. Rauh v. Interco, Inc., 702 S.W.2d 497, 499 (Mo.App.1985).

The facts relating to the fall may be summarized as follows. Plaintiff was employed by a general contractor who agreed to construct a Wall Mart store in Poplar Bluff. He worked as a general laborer. Dennis McHatton was a subcontractor, whose responsibilities included cutting openings in the roof for air conditioning units.

On November 27, 1989, a McHatton employee, Clifford Allen Welcher, Jr., was cutting an opening in the metal roof for the placement of an air conditioning unit. The hole was approximately 3 feet by 6 feet. Also, that day concrete was poured on the floor of the building. It started to rain, and rain came through the roof splattering the concrete.

The general contractor determined that it was necessary to prevent the rain from hitting the concrete. To do so the assistant supervisor for the general contractor, David Hill, took a crew to the roof and started covering it with plastic sheeting. Plaintiff was one of the employees who went to the roof. Welcher was in the process of cutting and welding angle iron to the roof in order to frame the hole he had just cut. Had he gotten that done, his next step was to affix to the roof a metal curb 18 inches high. Because the roof was being covered with the sheeting, he did not place the metal curb and withdrew from the area where he was working.

The plastic was stretched out to cover the roof, its sheets measuring 100 feet by 50 feet. High wind made the covering difficult. Plaintiff was gathering and placing pieces of lumber on the plastic to keep it on the roof. Two other employees of the general contractor picked up a 3 foot by 15 to 20 foot steel panel to place over the hole and had trouble controlling the panel because of the wind. They requested plaintiff’s help, and as he moved toward them, he stepped into the opening then covered by black plastic. He fell approximately 20 feet to the ground sustaining serious physical injuries.

Mino v. Porter Roofing Co., 785 S.W.2d 558, 561 (Mo.App.1990), set forth the general propositions which control the liability of subcontractors to employees of other contractors injured on a construction job:

The contractor is liable where he is in control of and has charge of the work and the dangerous condition is attributable to wrongful or negligent acts of his employees while the work is in progress, [citing case] If the instrumentality causing the harm is under the control of the defendant contractor and the plaintiff is injured while in a work area common to employees, the defendant owes a duty of care to avoid causing such injury, [citing case] A contractor who supplies equipment or devices which are to be used by employees of others on the construction job, owes a duty to make the device safe for its intended use. [citing case]

Defendant primarily relies upon Mino, but we do not believe it is controlling. In that case there was no evidence the defendant caused the dangerous condition. Here, it is undisputed that a McHatton employee cut the hole and without protesting, stood by to allow it to be covered without any protection for those that may be moving upon the plastic. McHatton is liable for the negligence of his employees and had a duty to exercise reasonable care not to cause injury to employees of others, including the general contractor. Killian v. Wheeloc Engineering Co., 350 S.W.2d 759, 762 (Mo.1961).

Under these circumstances, as defendant claims, McHatton, as a subcontractor, may have been required to relinquish the area around the opening to the control of the general contractor. However, the jury had a basis to find that McHatton’s employee, Welcher, before he left the area should have taken steps to cover, barricade [98]*98or warn those on the roof, or request of the general contractor’s assistant supervisor that this be done before the opening was covered with plastic.

Appellant further contends under this point that a possessor of land is subject to liability for a dangerous condition only if he either fails to make the condition reasonably safe or give a warning and that neither duty exists where the dangerous condition is known or obvious to the plaintiff. The cases cited by appellant no longer state the law.

If plaintiff was aware of the opening, that does not prevent his claim from being submitted to the jury. Cases relied on by appellant indicating to the contrary were previous to Gufstafson v. Benda, 661 S.W.2d 11 (Mo. banc 1983), as applied in Cox v. J.C. Penney Co., 741 S.W.2d 28 (Mo. banc 1987). Since those decisions a plaintiffs knowledge of the danger is considered in determining his comparative negligence rather than in determining the duty of defendant. Luthy v. Denny’s, Inc., 782 S.W.2d 661, 664 (Mo.App.1989). Point one is denied.

We consider the remaining points of appellant, except for Point IY, as without merit and precedential value. They are denied without further discussion. Point IV does have merit.

In Point IV appellant states the trial court erred “in denying the defendant’s motion to deduct from the judgment a settlement from co-defendant David Hill in the amount of $29,500.00 because settlements from co-defendants received by plaintiff should reduce the amount of the trial court judgment in that Clarence Williamson settled his claim against co-defendant David Hill for a benefit of $29,500.00 in return for a complete release from liability given to David Hill.”

David Hill was the assistant superintendent of the general contractor, originally a defendant to this action. Through their attorneys, plaintiff and Hill agreed that Hill’s motion for summary judgment should be sustained in return for Hill’s insurer waiving a portion of its subrogation claim. No money exchanged hands as a part of the agreement.

CNA Insurance Company provided workers compensation insurance for the general contractor and had made payments to or for plaintiff of approximately $56,000.

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

Related

Joseph Zygler v. Hawkins Construction
Missouri Court of Appeals, 2020
John C. Rapp v. Eagle Plumbing, Inc.
Missouri Court of Appeals, 2014
Rapp v. Eagle Plumbing, Inc.
440 S.W.3d 519 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2014)
International Division, Inc. v. DeWitt & Associates, Inc.
425 S.W.3d 225 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2014)
Smith v. Dewitt and Associates, Inc.
279 S.W.3d 220 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2009)
Erdman v. Condaire, Inc.
97 S.W.3d 85 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2002)
Cohn v. Dwyer
959 S.W.2d 839 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1997)
Gage v. Morse
933 S.W.2d 410 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1996)
Becker v. Setien
904 S.W.2d 338 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
844 S.W.2d 95, 1992 Mo. App. LEXIS 1683, 1992 WL 319912, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williamson-v-cox-moctapp-1992.