Case Name: Arkansas Natural Gas Company v. Oliver
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Arkansas
Decision Date: 1928-12-03
Citations: 178 Ark. 522
Docket Number: 
Parties: Arkansas Natural Gas Company v. Oliver.
Judges: 
Reporter: Arkansas Reports
Volume: 178
Pages: 522–530

Head Matter:
Arkansas Natural Gas Company v. Oliver.
Opinion delivered December 3, 1928.
Wynne & Miller, for appellant.
Philip McNemer, for appellee.

Opinion:
Hart, C. J.,
(after stating the facts). It is earnestly insisted by counsel for appellant that the evidence is not legally sufficient to warrant the verdict, and that, under the undisputed facts, the judgment should be reversed, and the cause of action dismissed. In this contention we think counsel for appellant are correct.
In the first place, there can be no recovery unless the gas company is shown" to have been negligent. Torrans v. Texarkana Gas & Electric Co., 88 Ark. 510, 115 S. W. 389.
This court has'held that a public service corporation furnishing gas to consumers is required to use ordinary care in constructing and maintaining its gas pipes in such condition as to prevent the escape of gas, whereby a person or his property might be injured; and if it fails to use such care, and, by reason of such failure, loss or injury occurs, it is liable in damages. With respect to the responsibility for damages caused by the escape of gas, our own court, in common with various others of last resort, determines ¡the common law liability in such a case upon the principles of negligence appli: cable to the care and maintenance required of the handling of a dangerous substance or instrumentality. In such oases, ordinary care is commensurate with the danger to be avoided. Pine Bluff Water & Light Co. v. Schneider, 62 Ark. 109, 34 S. W. 547, 33 L. R. A. 366; Pulaski Gas Light Co. v. McClintock, 97 Ark. 576, 134 S. W. 1189, 1199, 32 L. R. A. (N. S.) 825; and Little Rock Gas & Fuel Co. v. Coppedge, 116 Ark. 334, 172 S. W. 885; and case-note in 25 A. L. R. 262.
In an effort to sustain the judgment, counsel for appellees seek to apply the principles announced in McWilliams v. Kentucky Heating Co., 166 Ky. 26, 179 S. W. 24, L. R. A. 1916A, p. 1224. In that case the gas mains were in the public road near the surface, and at a place where it was expected and intended that vehicles should go. At the time of the accident the county officers were engaged in the reconstruction or repair of the macadam road near the dirt road, and in its work had ¡beenusing a steam roller. In the course of the work the person injured was directed by the county officer in charge to run the roller 'along the dirt road next to the macadam road to a point where it would be needed for use on the macadam road. While doing this, the spike on one of the wheels punched holes in an iron pipe that had been placed in the dirt road, and the-escaping gas, coming in contact with the fire in the engine, caused an explosion and the envelopment of the engine in flames. The dirt road was as much a part of the public road as the macadam road. The gas company was held to ¡be under the duty to exercise ordinary care to keep and maintain its mains in such condition as that the public road would be in a reasonably safe condition, considering the uses and travel to which it 'might reasonably be anticipated it would be subjected at any time, and to take notice of the use and travel over the road, and exercise such care as might, be necessary to maintain the road in a reason ably safe condition to meet such requirement. The court said that the duty imposed upon the gas company was to exercise ordinary care in the maintenance of its gas mains, and imposed upon it the duty of exercising ordinary care at all times, while the mains were in the public road, to guard against injury from any use of the road in view of the modern methods of use that it might be subject to. In the application of this rule it was the duty of the gas company to anticipate that it would be necessary to repair the macadam road, and that a steam roller might be driven over the dirt road alongside of the macadam road for that purpose. Hence it could not be said as a matter of law that the gas company, in the exercise of ordinary care, could not have foreseen this use of the road and was not required to anticipate that this accident might have occurred. In that case, however, the court recognized the law to be that the gas company in maintaining its gas main was not required to provide against extraordinary or unusual conditions, or to anticipate or guard against accidents arising from extraordinary or unusual causes which could not reasonably have been anticipated to exist at the time the injury complained of occurred. The county had a right to use all parts of the road and to operate the steam roller over any part of it that was necessary. Hence it was a question for the jury whether or not the gas company was negligent in not anticipating that the steam roller would have to be driven over the dirt road for the purpose of repairing the macadam road, and for that reason the gas company should have placed its main deep enough under the ground to prevent the steam roller from punching holes in them and thereby causing loss or injury.
In the case at bar the facts are essentially different. The gas main was laid under the ground on the land of a private person, under an easement obtained for that purpose. There was no leak in the gas main at the point where the accident occurred, and the pipe was laid a sufficient depth under the ground to prevent any injury from, any ordinary use that might have ¡been made by the owner of the ground or any one else. The undisputed facts show that the pipe was laid and maintained by appellant in a perfectly safe condition for any use that the gas company might have anticipated would be made of it in the future-, and that this condition had continued for 17 years. It was not required to make a continual inspection of its pipe lines in order to anticipate any extraordinary or unusual excavations which might cause injury to those making them. It was not required to anticipate that the road might be changed and a new-road laid out, and a borrowpit constructed for the purpose of excavating dirt for the purpose of making a dump or roadbed on the new road. If a county or State officer desired to do this, notice should have been given to appellant, in order that it might have the right to test whether or not the public use or'necessity would require it to change its pipe line. It must be remembered that it was under the duty to maintain its pipe line in a safe condition to furnish gas to its customers, and in the exercise of such duty it could not be required to tear up its pipe line for the purpose of securing a borrowpit for a change in the public road, unless the public necessity required such course. In any event it could not be required to' change the location of its pipe lines without notice to do so, and an opportunity to be heard on the question.
The escaping gas and the ensuing explosion which caused the loss was not caused by any failure of appellant to keep the gas mains in safe condition. It was due solely to the act of appellee's.servants in excavating the dirt in the borrowpit to an unusual depth, of which the gas company had no notice .and -of which it was not required to take notice.
The explosion was not due to the negligence of appellant, but was caused by the acts of appellees in making the excavation under such circumstances as constituted negligence on their part.
Under the undisputed facts, we are of the opinion that the loss complained of was not due to the negligence of appellant, but resulted from the negligence of appellees. Therefore the court should have directed a verdict in favor of appellant as requested !by it. For the error in not doing so the judgment will be reversed, and, inasmuch as the cause of action seems to have been fully developed, it will be dismissed here. It is so ordered.