Padilla v. Municipality of Manatí
Padilla v. Municipality of Manatí
Opinion of the Court
In Bonet v. Municipality of Barceloneta, 87 P.R.R. 74 (1963), we set forth the liability of a manager or operator of a display in which fireworks are exhibited in the following words:
“The duty of a manager or operator of an exhibition such as ■that involved herein is limited (1) to providing a safe place to the spectators to watch the exhibition; and (2) to selecting a skillful person for such purpose. Sebeck v. Plattdeutsche Volksfest Verein, 124 Fed. 11 (C.C.A. 2 1903), 46 Atl. 631 (1900); Blue Grass Fair Ass’n v. Bunnell, 267 S.W. 237 (Ky. 1924); Reisman v. Public Service Corporation, 81 Atl. 838 (1911); Deyo v. Kingston Consol. R. Co., 88 N.Y.Supp. 487 (1904). In Sebeck it was said that if the premature explosion is due to an operative defect which is not discoverable on inspection or to the manner in which the fireworks are discharged, the exhibitor is not liable, for his duty is limited to the adequate selection of the person who will provide and send them off; Deyo holds the same view; and in Blue Grass, although it considers a nondelegable duty, it*20 refers to the duty to provide a safe place to the spectators, and even goes on to affirm that the proper selection of the exhibitor of the fireworks relieves from liability, even though an inherently dangerous work is involved.”
As revealed by the transcript of the evidence offered in the present case, the Municipality of Manatí contracted the services of a pyrotechnist of about 20 years’ experience to discharge the fireworks during the festivities of the patronal festival held in said municipality at the beginning of 1959; that said pyrotechnist had set up the same display during the previous three years; that the place selected for the fireworks — the entrance of the parish church — was the same place that had been used for many years for that purpose; that the entrance has a certain elevation and is separated from the public thoroughfare by a fence 4 1/2 feet high, and that the public remains at a distance of about 40 to 60 feet from the place where the fireworks are discharged. The trial court also found that the fall of the “flying wheel” which produced slight and serious burns on the plaintiff minor was due to a defect in its construction.
Applying the same rule set forth in the Bonet case no liability may be imposed on the defendant municipality because it used the services of a skillful person of recognized experience to carry out the display; and under the circumstances he provided a reasonably safe place for the spectators in order to avoid any foreseeable injury or such as may be anticipated presupposing the absence of defects in the manufacture of the fireworks. On the other hand, if the accident was produced by the irregular discharge of the artifact which caused the damage as a result of its defective construction, no reparation could be demanded unless it be determined that the codefendant Georgi was not an independent contractor but an employee or agent.
The respondent judge concluded that the pyrotechnist Georgi was an employee of the defendant municipality. This
The judgment rendered by the Superior Court, Arecibo Part, on July 19, 1960, will be reversed and the complaint as to the appellant municipality will be dismissed.
It would.be advisable that the municipalities would require the independent contractors to acquire an insurance policy to answer to the public for the damages caused in situations such as the present one.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.