Barr v. Terminix International, Inc.
Barr v. Terminix International, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This is an action to recover damages resulting from alleged negligence in the application of a chemical pesticide by the defendant-appellee, Terminix International, Inc., a Kansas licensed and registered “applicator” engaged in the business of applying pesticides to the property of others. The plaintiffs-appellants are Dewey Barr and Valerie Barr, husband and wife, who claimed that they were injured through the negligence and wanton misconduct of the defendant in spraying their residence.
The facts in the case are undisputed and essentially are as follows: In the summer of 1981, plaintiffs were engaged in the business of breeding, raising, showing, and the commercial
After discovery was completed, defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on the basis that the plaintiffs had failed to comply with K.S.A. 2-2457, which provides as follows:
“2-2457. Action for damages; filing of statement; limitations. In order to maintain a civil action, a person damaged from pesticide application shall have filed with the county attorney of the county in which the damage occurred, a written statement, on a form prescribed by the secretary, claiming that he or she has been damaged. Such form shall be filed within sixty (60) days after the date damage was discovered. Such statement shall contain, but shall not be limited to, the name of the person responsible for the application of said pesticide and/or the name of the owner or lessee of the land on which it is alleged that the damage occurred. The secretary shall prepare a form to be furnished to persons for use in such cases and such forms shall contain such other requirements as the secretary may deem proper. A duplicate copy of this statement shall be sent by the county attorney to the secretary. The county attorney, upon receipt of such statement shall notify the licensee and the owner or lessee of the land or other person who may be charged with the responsibility and furnish copies of such statements as may be requested. Nothing contained in the provisions of this section shall be deemed to require any county attorney to maintain a civil action for any person.”
It is undisputed that plaintiffs failed to file the claim form within sixty days after they discovered the claimed damage. There is no contention by the defendant that plaintiffs failed to comply otherwise with the two-year statute of limitation applicable to negligence actions. Certain documents contained in the
On the appeal, the plaintiffs contend that K.S.A. 2-2457 is unconstitutional as a violation of the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Kansas Bill of Rights. These identical constitutional issues were raised in a case on appeal which was presented to the court during the same week this case was presented. The other case is Ernest v. Faler, 237 Kan. 125, 697 P.2d 870 (1985). Ernest involved an action by a landowner to recover damages resulting from alleged negligence in the application of a pesticide by an aerial sprayer who, under contract with another landowner, sprayed a pesticide on real property adjacent to the real property of the plaintiff, Ernest. In his petition, Ernest alleged that some spray drifted over to plaintiff s property and caused damage to growing walnut trees. In Ernest, this court held that K.S.A. 2-2457, which requires a person damaged from a pesticide application to file a written statement with the county attorney within sixty days after the date the damage was discovered in order to maintain a civil action to recover damages, is unconstitutional as a violation of the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Kansas Bill of Rights. We consider our opinion in Ernest as controlling the constitutional issues raised in this case. The law is clear that a corporation which is engaged in business as a pesticide applicator is liable to a customer for the negligence of its employees if they fail to take reasonable precautions and cause injury to the customer’s person or property. Binder v. Perkins, 213 Kan. 365, 516 P.2d 1012 (1973). Based upon Ernest v. Faler, we hold that the trial court in this case erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the defendant, Terminix International, Inc., on the basis
The judgment is reversed. The case is remanded to the district court with directions to proceed to consider the merits of plaintiffs’ cause of action.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Dewey Barr and Valerie Barr, Husband and Wife v. Terminix International, Inc., A Foreign Corporation
- Status
- Published