State v. Jennings
State v. Jennings
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting).
For the reasons stated in my dissent in Adams v. State, 555 P.2d 235 (Alaska 1976) I dissent from the imposition of possible liability upon the City of Fairbanks.
Opinion of the Court
These petitions for review present issues closely related to those decided today in our opinion in Adams v. State.
I
We shall discuss first the state’s petition. In reviewing the denial of a motion for summary judgment, we must determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment on the law applicable to the established facts.
The state’s involvement in the saga of the Nordale Hotel was quite different from its involvement with the Gold Rush Hotel, discussed in Adams. It is undisputed that the Nordale Hotel, an older building, contained serious fire hazards, including inadequate fire escapes; obsolete fire extinguishers; substandard alarm system and exit signs; improper storage of combustibles ; and unsafe construction, including sawdust insulation. The state knew of these hazards and did not abate them either directly or through the hotel.
However, the state had not undertaken to inspect the Nordale Hotel and eliminate the fire hazards therein as it had in the case of the Gold Rush Hotel. Therefore, the common law duty which we found the state had assumed in Adams cannot be established here. Instead, the state fire marshal’s office, in accordance with its policy, had deferred to the City of Fairbanks’ fire prevention agency for the purposes of fire prevention and inspection within the city limits of Fairbanks. Thus, the state fire marshal referred complaints about the Nordale Hotel to the city fire marshal for action; the city conducted inspection and initiated enforcement. Therefore, any liability of the state must rest on one of two theories: either the state is absolutely liable for permitting any violation of the fire code to continue unabated, or the state is liable indirectly through the city. We reject the first. As to the second, we do not find the kind of principal-agent relationship between the state and the city in these circumstances which would justify holding the state vicariously liable for the city’s negligence. AS 18.70.090 provides in part:
The Department of Public Safety and the chief of each city fire department and their authorized representatives in their respective areas may enforce the rules and regulations adopted by the Department of Public Safety for the prevention of fire or for the protection of life and property against fire or panic. . . .
The language of the statute would indicate that the fire chief in each city can enforce state fire standards independently of any delegation by the State Fire Marshal’s Of
II
The city moved for judgment on the pleadings. In reviewing such a motion, all well-pleaded material allegations of the non-moving party must be accepted as true.
REVERSED IN PART, AFFIRMED IN PART, AND REMANDED FOR TRIAL.
. 555 P.2d 235 (Alaska 1976).
. Braund, Inc. v. White, 486 P.2d 50, 53 (Alaska 1971). Bee also Nizinski v. Golden Valley Electric Ass’n, Inc., 509 P.2d 280, 283 (Alaska 1973), in which this court pointed out that for summary judgment motions, “[¡Inferences of fact from the proffered proofs are drawn in favor of the party opposing the motion and against the movant.”
. Home Rule is constitutionally recognized in Alaska; Art. X, Alaska Constitution. See Sharp, Home Rule in Alaska, A Clash Between the Constitution and the Court, 3 UCLA-Alaska L.R. 1 (1973).
. 2A J. Moore. Federal Practice § 12.15 at 2343 (2d Ed. 1975).
. Whether the city’s action or inaction constituted negligence is, of course, a question to be resolved at trial.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Alaska, Petitioner, v. Millie L. JENNINGS Et Al., Respondents; CITY OF FAIRBANKS, Petitioner, v. NORDALE HOTEL, INC., Et Al., Respondents
- Cited By
- 28 cases
- Status
- Published