Title: Mellas v. Lowdermilk

State: new-mexico

Issuer: New Mexico Supreme Court

Document:

271 P.2d 399 (1954) 58 N.M. 363 MELLAS v. LOWDERMILK et al. No. 5746. Supreme Court of New Mexico. June 5, 1954. *400 Keleher & McLeod and John B. Tittmann, Albuquerque, for appellants. Harry L. Bigbee, Donnan Stephenson and Claude S. Sena, Santa Fe, for appellee. LUJAN, Justice. On July 20, 1952, George Mellas, nine years, one month and four days old, was drowned in a pond located on a tract of land belonging to the defendants. Subsequently this action was brought by his father, Mike Mellas, as administrator of his son's estate, to recover for his alleged wrongful death. § 24-101 et seq. 1941 Comp. A jury trial resulted in a verdict and judgment in favor of the plaintiff for $22,500. Defendants' motions for a directed verdict, both at the end of plaintiff's case and at the close of the entire case, and their subsequent motion for a judgment non obstante veredicto were denied, and defendants have appealed. This suit is brought upon the theory that the defendants maintained upon their premises an attractive nuisance and in this connection the complaint alleged that for a considerable period of time the defendants were the possessors of land within the community of Fairview in Rio Arriba County; that they negligently maintained an artificial body of water, one which the defendants knew or should have known, and which they realized or should have realized, involved unreasonable risk of death or bodily harm to the decedent. Paragraph ten alleges: The defendants own and operate a heavy construction business, being engaged primarily in the construction of highways. The property is situated along the Rio Grande River where a pond was constructed during the winter of 1945-46, when certain flood control work was done by the Bureau of Reclamation, which resulted in a dike cutting off a prior bend in the river. River water seeped into the depression behind the dike, forming a pond in the shape of a horse shoe. A diving board was erected on one of the banks. The pond contained fish and had a growth of weeds at the bottom. This pond is located four hundred paces or approximately one thousand feet west from U.S. Highway 64 and is not visible therefrom. A raft nineteen feet long and six feet nine inches wide, constructed of two 12 x 16 timbers and 6 x 8 boards bolted and nailed together, is kept on the pond for the purpose of testing and servicing pumps which are used to pump water into a large storage tank. The water is used to irrigate an orchard and lawns as well as for fire protection and to service heavy construction equipment. This raft is propelled by a long pole. During the summers of 1949-1950 or 1950 and 1951 the defendants permitted the Espanola High School coach to use said pond in conducting swimming lessons for school children. It was never dedicated to the public as a play ground, nor was it open to the public. The premises were fenced in and posted *401 with "no trespassing" and "no swimming" signs. The defendants claim that the court erred in overruling their motions for a directed verdict, both at the end of the plaintiff's case and at the close of the entire case. The general rule of law applicable to this case, and which is approved by the great weight of authorities, is found in 20 R.C.L. on Negligence in Section 85, page 96, and reads as follows: The author goes on to say that a right of recovery has been denied in cases where children from five to eleven years of age have lost their lives by drowning, although the property owner knew of the habit of children. And in 56 Am.Jur. Section 436, page 850 the author says: The elaborate note in 8 A.L.R.2d on pages 1299-1300, Section 43, contains reference to several decisions from different states holding that the average child of seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven years of age is charged with the knowledge of the dangers of drowning. And beginning on page 34 of 36 A.L.R. will be found a very exhaustive annotation on the doctrine of attractive nuisance. The cases with reference to ponds and pools of water are collected on pages 224 to 227, inclusive. See, also, annotations in 45 A.L.R. 990; 53 A.L.R. 1355; and 60 A.L.R. 1453. The following cases deal with the specific question of the maintenance of ponds, with rafts or logs in the water, on private property. They are peculiarly applicable to this case, and under them no liability could attach. Robbins v. City of Omaha, 100 Neb. 439, 160 N.W. 749; Barnhart v. Chicago, M. & St. P. Ry. Co., 89 Wash. 304, 154 P. 441, L.R.A. 1916D, 443; Harriman v. Incorporated Town of Afton, 225 Iowa 659, 281 N.W. 183, 184; Bass v. Quinn-Robbins Co., Inc., 70 Idaho 308, 216 P.2d 944; Baker v. Fruin-Colnon Contracting Co. (Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis), 271 Ill. App. 300; and Hanna v. Iowa Central Railway Company, infra. See, also, McCall v. McCallie, 48 Ga. App. 99, 171 S.E. 843. In Anderson v. Reith-Riley Construction Co., 112 Ind. App. 170, 44 N.E.2d 184, 185, Judge Flanagan said: There is nothing in the record to contravene the legal presumption that George Mellas, a boy nine years old, had the capacity to comprehend and avoid the *402 danger he incurred in going upon the raft in the pond where he had been the day before and was aware of the depth of the water. Fully comprehending the danger, and not using care and self-control to avoid it, he was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law. Heimann v. Kinnare, 190 Ill. 156, 60 N.E. 215, 52 L.R.A. 652, 83 Am.St.Rep. 123; Hanna v. Iowa Central Railway Company, 129 Ill. App. 134. Bobby Jones, who, with his brother and George Mellas went to the pond in question on the fatal day was called as a witness for the plaintiff and he testified as follows: On cross-examination he testified: In Newby v. West Palm Beach Water Co., Fla., 47 So. 2d 527, 528, the court said: In Restatement of the Law, Section 339 (e) on page 925, it is said: It would be profitless to review all the decisions appearing in above annotations as well as those cited by us. Broadly speaking, they may be divided into four classes. (1) Where the turn-table doctrine is entirely repudiated. (2) Where the doctrine is accepted, but confined to turntables or to attractive dangerous machinery. (3) Where it is held to cover various latent and hidden dangers. (4) Where it is held to cover, or is extended to, cases of patent and visible alluring dangers other than those arising from mechanical appliances, defects or otherwise. The case at bar is one where the facts are such as are found in the fourth of the above classifications, and the question for determination and for our consideration is whether the turntable decision should be held to cover such a case, or, if not, whether we should extend the doctrine to cover such a case. As to the latter question, we are clearly of opinion that it should not be extended. It is a matter of common knowledge that alluring and attractive ponds, lakes, pools and other natural and artificial bodies of water, such as the one in question in this case, are extremely useful in this state, not only to the defendants and to the mining industry in the necessary and proper conduct of their business, but to livestock men, farmers and fruit growers in watering their stock and in the cultivation of their crops. Not only ponds, pools or lakes but irrigation ditches, large and small, are equally dangerous and alluring to the child, are to be found throughout the state wherever mining, livestock raising and cultivation of land is carried on, and such bodies of water, are practically impossible to render harmless, and are indispensible for the maintenance of life and property. There is no distinction that can properly be drawn for liability for injuries received by a child from any of such various uses of water. Both as a matter of law and as a matter of public policy we feel that the so-called "turntable doctrine" should not be extended to cover such a case as is here presented. The cases of Barker v. City of Santa Fe, 1943, 47 N.M. 85, 136 P.2d 480 and Selby v. Tolbert, 1952, 56 N.M. 718, 249 P.2d 498, relied on by the plaintiff are not helpful to him. Expressions occur in these cases which, if the facts be ignored, might be construed to sustain plaintiff's contention. But it is a cardinal rule of construction that decisions are to be construed in the light of the facts on which they are based. Each of these cases involved hidden dangers, in the instrument and body of water inflicting the injury, not apparent to those who were injured. We have carefully examined the entire record, and are unable to find any evidence showing or tending to show defendants *404 guilty of the wrongful acts charged in the complaint which caused the death of George Mellas. The trial court therefore erred in not sustaining the motions for a directed verdict in favor of defendants. In view of this conclusion, it is not necessary to consider any of the other errors relied upon for reversal. The judgment will be reversed with direction to the trial court to proceed in a manner not inconsistent herewith, and It is so ordered. McGHEE, C.J., and COMPTON and SEYMOUR, JJ., concur. SADLER, J., absent from the state, did not participate.