Title: Waters v. Biesecker

State: north-carolina

Issuer: North Carolina Supreme Court

Document:

305 S.E.2d 539 (1983) H. Lee WATERS, Albert Lee Huff and Clifton Freedle v. Joe E. BIESECKER, Chairman, and Purcell Yarbrough and Edward Fowler, All Members of the City of Lexington Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and The City of Lexington Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. No. 63PA83. Supreme Court of North Carolina. August 9, 1983. Barnes, Grimes & Bunce by Jerry B. Grimes, Lexington, for Albert Lee Huff, plaintiff-appellee. DeLapp, Hedrick & Harp by Robert C. Hedrick, Lexington, for City of Lexington Alcoholic Beverage Control Bd., defendant-appellant. MARTIN, Justice. Plaintiffs brought this action for damages to their property allegedly resulting from the negligent excavation of defendant's adjoining property for the construction of an Alcoholic Beverage Control store. The claims of plaintiffs Waters, the landowner, and Freedle, a lessee, were dismissed at the close of all the evidence. Waters and Freedle did not appeal. A jury verdict was returned in favor of plaintiff Huff, who owned a building located on Waters's property. From the judgment on this verdict, defendant ABC board appealed. Claims against the individual defendants were dismissed. Defendant ABC board proposed to build a store for the sale of alcoholic beverages upon property it owned adjoining the land upon which Huff's building was located. A notice was posted by defendant of its proposal to construct the building. This was a general notice of the proposal and of a public meeting that would be held but did *540 not give any details as to the method of construction or excavation required. The defendant contracted with an architect and an independent contractor to construct the building. In the construction, it was necessary to excavate the defendant's property. During the construction, neither defendant nor its contractors notified or advised Huff about the excavation in any way. After excavation began, a crack in a plate glass window in Huff's building appeared, a crack in the masonry wall widened, waterlines under the building separated, and the pillars supporting a back corner of the building shifted or moved. Defendant argues that the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the trial court's denial of its motion for a directed verdict. We find no error in the trial court's ruling and affirm the result reached by the Court of Appeals. Defendant's principal contention is that it is protected from liability because of governmental immunity. In deciding this appeal, the Court of Appeals addressed the wrong legal issue. The Court of Appeals held "that the operation of an ABC store by the Board is a proprietary function and that the trial court, therefore, correctly refused to dismiss the case on the ground of governmental immunity." This was not the issue before the Court of Appeals. Plaintiff's alleged damages did not result from the operation of an ABC store, but from the failure to give notice of an excavation made in the construction of a building to be used as an ABC store. The distinction is substantive. The holding by the Court of Appeals that the operation of an ABC store is a proprietary function was not necessary for the resolution of the appeal; it is entirely obiter dictum and not approved by this Court. We expressly refrain from ruling upon this interesting issue. Cf. Gardner v. Reidsville, 269 N.C. 581, 153 S.E.2d 139 (1967); Hahn v. City of Ortonville, 238 Minn. 428, 57 N.W.2d 254 (1973); Niles v. Healy, 115 N.H. 370, 343 A.2d 226 (1975); Krzysztalowski v. Fortin, 108 N.H. 187, 230 A.2d 750 (1967). The crucial question is whether the defendant ABC board is immune from suit for damages allegedly caused by its negligent failure to warn the plaintiff of the excavation undertaken in the construction of the ABC store building. Our research discloses that this precise question has not been previously decided by this Court. Although the legislature did not expressly grant authority to local ABC boards to construct buildings, such authority is impliedly granted them by N.C.G.S. 18B-701(13), which provides that a local board is authorized to "[p]erform any other activity authorized or required by the ABC law." Under the duty and power to sell alcoholic beverages, it may be reasonably implied that the boards have authority to construct buildings in which to carry out these duties. 56 Am.Jur. Municipal Corporations, Etc. § 541 (1971). We note that the board is not required to construct buildings; it has authority to purchase or lease buildings for use as ABC stores. N.C.Gen.Stat. § 18B-701(10) (Cum.Supp.1981). Davis v. Summerfield, 131 N.C. 352, 42 S.E. 818 (1902), involved an action for damages caused by depriving the soil under plaintiff's wall of its lateral support, by negligence of the defendant while excavating for a new building on the adjoining lot. This Court approved the following instruction to the jury: *541 Id. at 353, 42 S.E. at 818. This court then summarized the rules regarding lateral support as follows: Id. at 354-55, 42 S.E. at 818. On rehearing the case, Davis v. Summerfield, 133 N.C. 325, 45 S.E. 654 (1903), this Court approved its earlier holding with regard to the requirement of notice and addressed the question of whether the owner of a lot is liable for an injury done to an adjoining brick wall, through the negligence of an independent contractor in excavating adjacent to the wall. After stating the general rule of non-liability for acts of an independent contractor, the Court held: Id. at 328, 45 S.E. at 655. In such case, the owner is responsible even though the injurious consequences flowed from the work of an independent contractor. 18 McQuillin, Municipal Corporations Municipal Liability for Torts § 53.76c (3d ed., 1977 revised vol.) (footnotes omitted). See also Meares v. Wilmington, 31 N.C. 73 (1848); Horne v. City of Charlotte, 41 N.C. App. 491, 255 S.E.2d 290 (1979). In Meares, the city of Wilmington lowered the grade of a street three or four feet adjoining the property of plaintiff, causing the wall of plaintiff's building to collapse. The Court, in a scholarly opinion by Justice (later Chief Justice) Pearson, held that plaintiff had a cause of action for damages. The Court expressly rejected defendant's claim of governmental immunity, holding that defendant was not liable for doing work which the law authorized it to perform, provided the work was done in a skillful and proper manner. Because the *542 work was performed negligently, the city was not permitted to escape liability. See Smith v. State, 289 N.C. 303, 222 S.E.2d 412 (1976); Sides v. Hospital, 287 N.C. 14, 213 S.E.2d 297 (1975); Smith v. Highway Commission, 257 N.C. 410, 126 S.E.2d 87 (1962); Thompson v. R.R., 248 N.C. 577, 104 S.E.2d 181 (1958); Yowmans v. Hendersonville, 175 N.C. 574, 96 S.E. 45 (1918); Kaplan v. City of Winston-Salem, 21 N.C.App. 168, 203 S.E.2d 653, rev'd on other grounds, 286 N.C. 80, 209 S.E.2d 743 (1974). We hold that the defendant is liable for the damages resulting from the removal of lateral support from adjoining property while excavating for the construction of an ABC store because of its negligent failure to warn plaintiff of such excavation. This is true even though defendant was acting through an independent contractor. Davis v. Summerfield, supra, 133 N.C. 325, 45 S.E. 654. See generally 33 A.L.R.2d 111 (1954). It must exercise due care to anticipate and prevent injurious consequences. This involves giving reasonable notice to an adjoining landowner of the intention to excavate, including sufficient information to enable the adjoining landowner to take necessary measures to protect his property. In this case there is no evidence that plaintiff was notified that defendant would excavate below the level of the foundation of plaintiff's wall. Accord, Page v. Sloan, 281 N.C. 697, 190 S.E.2d 189 (1972); Hendricks v. Fay, Inc., 273 N.C. 59, 159 S.E.2d 362 (1968); Highway Comm. v. Transportation Corp., 226 N.C. 371, 38 S.E.2d 214 (1946). For these reasons, we affirm the result reached by the Court of Appeals. AFFIRMED.