Tice v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co.
Tice v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co.
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff, Arthur Wayne Tice, Jr., instituted an action of trespass on the case, in the Circuit Court of Wood
Defendant, engaged in the construction of a chemical ■plant, at Cireleville, Ohio, entered into a contract with ■Armstrong Cork Company, whereby Armstrong, an independent contractor, agreed to insulate various pipes constituting part of the plant. Plaintiff, an employee of the independent contractor, not of defendant, was engaged in the insulation of the pipes at the time of the injury, May 7, 1954, in a room described as the caustic soda room. That room was about twenty feet square, with a ceiling approximately thirty feet high. In a corner of that room an interior toilet, in size about seven feet, four inches by three feet, four inches by nine feet high, had been constructed. The walls of the toilet were of brick and the ceiling of transite, an asbestos-cement sheet of material about one-fourth inch in thickness.
To enable the workmen to reach the several pipes to •be insulated, the pipes being about five to ten feet below the ceiling of the room and extending through the room, a scaffold about six feet in width was constructed and placed in position in the room. Attached to, as a part of the scaffold, near one end thereof, was a ladder. Defendant, in accordance with the agreement with the independent contractor, constructed the scaffold, but had
At the time of the accident, construction of the caustic soda room had not been completed and, apparently, some work was necessary to the completion of the toilet. There appears to be no question that at safety meetings plaintiff and other employees had been warned against the practice of “cooning” pipes, though plaintiff testified that on the day of the accident he requested information as to how to insulate the pipes over the toilet beyond the end of the scaffold, and was instructed by his immediate superior, a foreman of the independent contractor, to “Get it the best way you can”. Plaintiff was experienced in the type of work in which he was engaged at the time of his injuries.
Code, 55-2-12, as amended, reads: “Every personal action for which no limitation is otherwise prescribed shall be brought (a) within two years next after the right to bring the same shall have accrued, if it be for a matter of such nature that, in case a party die, it can be brought by or against his representative; and (b) if it be for a matter not of such nature, shall be brought within one year next after the right to bring the same shall have accrued, and not after; and (c) every right of action mentioned above in clause (a) heretofore accrued shall be brought within two years hereafter or within five years from the time such action accrued, whichever shall be less.” An amendment, Chapter 2 of the Acts of. the 1949 Legislature, reduced from five years to two years the period provided in Clause “(a)”, quoted above.
From the language of the statute quoted, and from the decisions hereinafter mentioned, it is clear that had the cause of action here sued on accrued in this State, the period of limitation would be one year. But plaintiff contends that since, under the statute quoted above, the period of limitation is two years if the matter be “of such nature that, in case a party die, it can be brought by or against his -representative”, and since such action in Ohio is “of such nature”, the period of limitation as to the instant case is two years, the matter of the survival
The applicable Ohio statute, Section 2305.21 (11235), Baldwin’s Ohio Revised Code, reads: “In addition to the causes of action which survive at common law, causes of action for mesne profits, or injuries to the person or property, or for deceit or fraud, also shall survive; and such actions may be brought notwithstanding the death of the person entitled or liable thereto.” This statute makes it certain that such a cause of action as that here involved, in Ohio, is “of such nature that, in case a party die, it can be brought by or against his representative”. In 1 C.J.S., Abatement and Revival, Section 135, it is pointed out that: “The law of the state wherein a cause of action arose governs its survivability * * *”. See Goldstein v. Gilbert, 125 W. Va. 250, 23 S. E. 2d 606; Grim v. Moore, 121 W. Va. 299, 3 S. E. 2d 448; Keesee, Admr. v. Atlantic Greyhound Corp., 120 W. Va. 201, 197 S. E. 522.
In West Virginia it is held: “1. The common law rule that an action for personal injuries, not resulting in death, does not survive the death of the wrongdoer, prevails in this state, and is not changed by Code, 55-7-5 (Lord Campbell’s Act) as amended by Chap. 20, Acts of Legislature 1931. Said amendment relates only to actions for wrongful death.” Byrd, Sheriff, etc. v. Lon F. Byrd, Administrator, etc., et al., 122 W. Va. 115, 7 S. E. 2d 507. See Hereford v. Meek, 132 W. Va. 373, 52 S. E. 2d 740. “* * * American statutes authorizing recovery for wrongful death are merely adoptions, or adaptations, of the English ‘Lord Campbell’s Act’, enacted by the British Parliament in 1846. Our statute, like its prototype, clearly created a new right of action and operated for the benefit, not of the decedent’s estate, but of his distributees * * Burgess, Admr., etc. v. Gilchrist, 123 W. Va. 727, 729, 17 S. E. 2d 804, 806. See Woodford v. McDaniels, 73 W. Va. 736, 81 S. E. 544, 52 L.R.A.,
It is contended further, however, that since Code, 55-2-12, as amended, applies only to personal actions, for which no limitation is “otherwise prescribed”, the limitation applicable in the instant case, by virtue of such exception, is governed by the one year limitation provided by Code, 55-7-8, as amended. That section reads: “Where an action is brought by a person injured for damages caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of any person or corporation, and the person injured dies pending the action, the action shall not abate by reason of his death but, his death being suggested, it may be revived in the name of his personal representative, and the declaration and other pleadings shall be amended so as to conform to an action under sections five and six of this article, and the case proceeded with as if the action had been brought under said sections. But in such case there shall be but one recovery for the same injury. And any right of action which may hereafter accrue by reason of any injury done to the person of another, and not resulting in death, by the wrongful act, neglect or default of any person, shall survive the death of the wrongdoer and may be enforced against his executor or administrator, either by reviving against such personal representative a suit which may have been brought against the wrongdoer himself in his lifetime, or by bringing an original suit against his personal representative after his death, whether or not the death of the wrongdoer occurred before the death of the injured party; but any such action shall be instituted within one year from the time such cause of action accrued. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to extend the time within which an action for any other tort shall be brought, nor to give the right to assign a claim for a tort not otherwise assignable.”
The first, second and fourth sentences of Section 8, just quoted, first became part of the Code of this State
Reliance is had on the holdings in Hereford v. Meek, 132 W. Va. 373, 52 S. E. 2d 740, and City of Wheeling ex rel. Carter v. American Casualty Co., 131 W. Va. 584, 48 S. E. 2d 404. In the Meek case the Court was careful to point out that the decision “* * * applies only to an action based upon a right of action which accrues by reason of an injury done to the person of another, when the injury does not cause the death of the injured person and when, after the injury is inflicted, the wrongdoer dies, and which right of action, by virtue of the statute, survives the death of the wrongdoer and may be enforced against his personal representative; and that the holding in these cases is limited to a situation expressly covered by Section 8, as amended, and to an action based upon the right of action dealt with by its provisions. It should not be considered as applicable to or controlling of actions for personal injuries generally when the death of the wrongdoer does not occur or to any other type of personal action which does not clearly come within the express provisions of the statute, as amended by Chapter 2, Acts of the Legislature, 1945 * * *”.
In Jones v. Jones, 133 W. Va. 306, 58 S. E. 2d 857, decided subsequent to the effective date of Chapter 2 of
“In my opinion the Legislature, in amending Code, 1931, 55-7-8, by the enactment of Chapter 2, Acts of the Legislature, 1945, Regular Session, and in providing for the survival of a right of action against a wrongdoer who subsequently dies, did not intend to change or affect the period of limitations for actions for personal injuries in general or to cause the then existing five year statute of limitations to apply to such cases * * *”.
We are of the view, therefore, that the cause of action sued on in the instant case is “of such nature that, in case a party die, it can be brought by or against his representative”, within the meaning of Clause “(a)” of Code, 55-2-12, as amended, for the reason, and only for the reason, that the substantive question of survival is governed by the law of the State where the action arose. The conclusion reached is in accord with an excellent opinion dealing with the same problem, by Judge Watkins, in McIntosh v. General Chemical Defense Corporation, 67 Fed. Supp. 63, (D.C. S.D. W. Va.).
“No employer shall require, permit, or suffer any employee to go or be in any employment or place of employment which is not safe, and no such employer shall fail to furnish, provide, and use safety devices and safeguards, or fail to obey and follow orders or to adopt and use methods and processes reasonably adequate to render such employment and place of employment safe. No employer shall fail to do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life, health, safety, and welfare of such employees or frequenters. No such employer or other person shall construct, occupy, or maintain any place of employment that is not safe.”
The statutory provision has been interpreted as exacting a duty substantially the same as that imposed by Ohio law on an employer toward an invitee. Schwarz v. General Electric Realty Corp., 99 Ohio App. 191, 132 N. E. 2d 133, affirmed 163 Ohio St. 354, 126 N. E. 2d 906; Pare v. Gemco Engineering and Mfg. Co., 95 Ohio App. 141, 118 N. E. 2d 206; Bosjnak v. Superior Sheet Steel Co., 145 Ohio St. 538, 62 N. E. 2d 305; Davis v. Charles Shutrump & Sons Co., 140 Ohio St. 89, 42 N. E. 2d 663; Hozian v. Crucible Steel Casting Co., 132 Ohio St. 453, 9 N. E. 2d 143; Kelly v. Ford Motor Co., 104 Ohio App. 185, 139 N. E. 249; Ford Motor Co. v Tomlinson, 229 F.
In Davis v. Charles Shutrump & Sons Co., supra, the first point of the syllabus reads: “Where the premises on which construction work is to be performed by contractor remain under the control of the principal employer while work is in the course of performance, a servant of the contractor is an 'invitee’ and as such is entitled to recover from the principal employer for any injury he may sustain by reason of the abnormally dangerous condition of the premises, only if principal employer has and the servant has not actual or constructive knowledge of the existence of such condition.”
In Pare v. Gemco Engineering & Mfg. Co., supra, the Court quoted with approval from Popowich v. American Steel & Wire Co., 13 F. 2d 381 (6th Cir.), as follows: “Employee of independent contractor, receiving injuries while washing windows for defendant at place where no employee of defendant was required to work, held not entitled to recover, under Gen. Code Ohio, §§ 871-15, 871-16, requiring safe place of employment for employees and frequenters, since ‘place of employment,’ as used therein, means place where some employee is required to work, either temporarily or permanently.”
In Wellman v. East Ohio Gas Co., 160 Ohio St. 103, 113 N. E. 2d 629, the Court held, Points 1 and 2, syllabus : “1. Where an independent contractor undertakes to do work for another in the very doing of which there are elements of real or potential danger and one of such contractor’s employees is injured as an incident to the performance of the work, no liability for such injury ordinarily attaches to the one who engaged the services of the independent contractor. 2. One who engages an independent contractor to do work for him ordinarily owes no duty of protection to the employees of such contractor, in connection with the execution of the work, who proceeds therewith knowing and appreciating that there is a condition of danger surrounding its performance.”
In the case last cited, the Court held: “3. Such company is not liable to one injured as the result of some unusual occurrence that cannot fairly be anticipated or foreseen and is not within the range of reasonable probability.”
In reaching the question whether defendant was negligent in failing to furnish the plaintiff a safe place to work, we may assume, but do not decide, that plaintiff was free from negligence. The cases cited, we think, make it clear that a defendant, in such a case, is not
In considering liability of the owner-defendant, it must not be overlooked that no contention is made that there existed any defect in the construction of the scaffold or the cover over the toilet, all evidence as to such matters being to the effect that they were constructed, and of such materials, as usual in such circumstances. While considerable argument is made relating to whether the transite ceiling was attached to the underside of the ceiling joists, it definitely appears from the evidence of those who installed the ceiling, and those who repaired it after plaintiff fell, that it was attached to the underside of the joists; that that was the usual and approved manner of such construction; and that the covering over the toilet was never intended to be walked on. Plaintiff testified that he “found out later it had transite on the bottom * * True, he testified further that a sheet of transite was also on top of the joists, but there is no
The judgment of the Circuit Court of Wood County complained of is reversed, the verdict of the jury is set aside and a new trial awarded.
Reversed; verdict set aside; new trial awarded.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting:
I agree with the majority decision in holding that the defendant is not liable. I dissent from that part of the decision which holds that the applicable statute of limitations is two years.
If A commits a personal injury tort against B in West Virginia and neither party dies, B must sue A within one year from the date when the injury occurred. Jones v. Jones, 133 W. Va. 306, 58 S. E. 2d 857. The majority holds that if A commits the same kind of a tort against B, in the State of Ohio, then B may sue A in West Virginia within two years from the date when the injury occurred. This result is independent of the domicile of
It is sought to justify that departure by resort to Code, 55-2-12, as amended, which provides, in so far as applicable here, that:
“Every personal action for which no limitation is otherwise prescribed shall be brought (a) within two years next after the right to bring the same shall have accrued, if it be for a matter of such nature that, in case a party die, it can be brought by or against his representative; and (b) if it be for a matter not of such nature, shall be brought within one year next after the right to bring the same shall have accrued, and not after. . . .”
I do not think that the provisions of clause (a) have any application to a case such as the one now before us, where neither party has died and there is no possibility that an action can be brought by or against a personal
It cannot be successfully denied that this statute is a survival statute in so far as the preservation of liability is concerned. It is expressly provided that “the right of action. . . . shall survive the death of the wrongdoer.” Does the right of action survive the death of the injured party ? The statute so provides in the event that the injured party has begun the action during his lifetime. But if the injured party dies before he has begun an action, no provision is expressly made which permits his personal representative to initiate an action against the wrongdoer or his representative. In City of Wheeling v. American Casualty Co., 131 W. Va. 584, 592, 48 S. E. 2d 404, 409, Judge Haymond stated by way of dictum that “numerous cases hold, however, that a statute which in terms prevents abatement and provides for the revival of pending actions, does not operate as a revival statute if no action is pending at the time of the death of the injured party. 1 Am. Jur., Abatement and Revival, Section 79. That situation, however, does not arise in this case.” The same authority, in a later paragraph of Section 79, states that “Other courts, however, view a statute which in terms prevents the abatement and provides for the revival of pending actions as causing the cause of action on which such actions are based to survive.” See Annotation, 92 A.L.R. 956. There is authority for the proposition that any action which survives against the personal representative of one party must be considered as surviving in favor of the personal representative of the other party. Valentine v. Norton, 30 Me. 194; cf. Brill v. Jewett, 262 F. 935, and Hurley v. Sheehan, 288 Mass. 468, 193 N.E. 46, 96 A.L.R. 534. It is, therefore, possible for us to hold, if the point is raised at some future time, that the right of action survives the death of the injured party even though no action was begun during his lifetime.
The majority, however, hold that these considerations are irrelevant for the reason that under the statute of
As previously stated, I think that the provisions of Code, 55-2-12, subsection (a) relating to cases where an action may be brought by or against a personal representative have no proper application to actions for personal injuries when both the injured party and the tort-feasor are living. But even if I am in error in this conclusion, it is my opinion that cases of this character fall within the category of those which are “otherwise prescribed” and thus are excluded from the operation of subsection (a).
From the very beginning it had been the consistent public policy of this State that all actions for personal injuries died with the person of either the injured party or the tortfeasor and that no action could be maintained either by or against the personal representative. Aside from Lord Campbell’s Act and the amendment thereof by Code, 55-7-8, this continued to be the law until the enactment of Chapter 2, Acts of the Legislature of 1945, Regular Session. However, since that Act provided no period of limitation, when this Court was confronted with the problem in Hereford v. Meek, 132 W. Va. 373, 52 S. E. 2d 740, it was driven to hold that the then existing five-year limitation contained in Code, 55-2-12, subsection (a) necessarily applied because there was no other provision covering the subject. And, said the Court, “. . . the Legislature indicated its intention that the period of one year provided by Code, 1931, 55-2-12, for a personal action which did not survive the death of the person to whom it had accrued should continue to govern an action for ‘any other tort’ . . .” (Italics supplied.)
The present state of the law is, therefore, (1) if the injured party and the tortfeasor are both living, the statute of limitations is one year; (2) if the tortfeasor dies, the living injured party must sue the personal representative within one year from the time when the
The Legislature zealously preserved the liability of the tortfeasor, but inexplicably failed to preserve the right of action to enforce it if the injured party failed to bring an action. But if the injured party did bring an action within one year, and thereafter died such action could be revived. Thus, it is apparent that the provision is a revival statute as to the injured party and a survival statute as to the tortfeasor. The reason for the failure of the Legislature to abolish in toto the common law rule of non-survivability is not apparent. Nevertheless, the statute as now written leaves no doubt that such failure indicates, and at least tacitly expresses, the public policy of the State that personal actions shall not survive the death of the injured party if he dies within one year from the accrual of the cause of action without having instituted an action thereon.
The provisions of Code, 55-2-12, subsection (a) which prescribe a limitation (now two years) for “a matter of such nature that, in case a party die, it can be brought by or against his representative,” were never intended to apply to cases involving personal injuries for the quite obvious reason that this statute was in existence for many years before the passage of Acts of the Legislature of 1945, Chapter 2, which, for the first time, made any change in the common law doctrine. As I have said, the Court felt bound to resort to subsection (a) in the Hereford case, and when, within twelve days after that decision the Legislature amended said Act by limiting the right to bring an action against the wrongdoer or
The public policy of the State thus to impose a statute of limitations of one year as applied to actions for personal injuries is, therefore, in my judgment, clearly announced. We flout that policy by permitting the plaintiff in this case to maintain such an action against this corporate defendant upon the theory that since the cause of action arose in Ohio and is survivable under its statutes, it is the type of case which is governed, as to limitation of time, by Code, 55-2-12, as amended.
No principle of law, other than that of comity, requires us to recognize substantive rights arising under the laws of Ohio or to employ the judicial machinery of this State for their enforcement. And, I think, we should not do so in violation of the demonstrated policy of our State. “All statutes of limitation are time clocks; [they are] a legislative declaration of policy . . .”, Tieffenbrun v. Flannery, 198 N.C. 397, 151 S. E. 857. See: 3 Beale,
For these reasons, I dissent from • the conclusion reached by the majority of the members of this Court. This case should be an illustration of the confused, uncertain and unsatisfactory state of our laws relating to
Judge Ducker concurs in this dissent.
Reference
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- Arthur Wayne Tice, Jr. v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co., a Corporation
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