Title: Mays v. Ciba-Geigy Corp.
Citation: 233 Kan. 38, 661 P.2d 348
Docket Number: 54,176
State: Kansas
Issuer: Kansas Supreme Court
Date: March 26, 1983

233 Kan. 38 (1983)
661 P.2d 348
LARRY KEITH MAYS, Appellant,
v.
CIBA-GEIGY CORPORATION, MISCO-UNITED SUPPLY, INC., and GRAVES DRILLING COMPANY, INC., Appellees, and DOC'S BACKHOE SERVICE and CIMARRON INSURANCE COMPANY, INC., Intervenors.
No. 54,176

Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed March 26, 1983.
Richard D. Greene and Jeffery L. Carmichael, of Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock &amp; Kennedy, Chartered, of Wichita, argued the cause, and Dennis M. Feeney, of the same firm, was with them on the briefs for appellant.
Alvin D. Herrington, of McDonald, Tinker, Skaer, Quinn &amp; Herrington, of Wichita, argued the cause, and Eric E. Davis and Randall E. Fisher, of the same firm, were with him on the brief for appellee Ciba-Geigy Corporation.
Larry Withers, of Kahrs, Nelson, Fanning, Hite &amp; Kellogg, of Wichita, argued the cause, and Arthur S. Chalmers, of the same firm, was with him on the brief for appellee Misco-United Supply, Inc.
Steven C. Day, of Turner &amp; Boisseau, Chartered, of Wichita, was on the brief for appellee Graves Drilling Company, Inc.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
McFARLAND, J.:
In this action plaintiff Larry Keith Mays seeks recovery for personal injuries suffered when a gas pipeline system on which he was working exploded. Theories advanced for liability of the various defendants include negligence, manufacturing defect, failure to warn, and breach of express warranty. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of each defendant and plaintiff appeals therefrom.
*40 PRELIMINARY FACTUAL STATEMENT
A number of complex issues are raised, several of which involve intensive scrutiny of different facets of the factual circumstances herein. We believe it would be appropriate at this point to state only a preliminary factual framework which identifies the parties and their relationship to this controversy as well as the basic facts of what occurred. Factual details will be set forth in the opinion as needed.
Plaintiff Larry Keith Mays was an employee of intervenor, Doc's Backhoe and Roustabout Service, a sole proprietorship owned and operated by Mr. Donald "Doc" Dale and located in Attica, Kansas. On December 18, 1976, Doc's Backhoe and Roustabout Service was engaged in connecting a new gas well to an existing separator on property located three miles south of the town of Murdock, in Kingman County, on what is referred to as the Kostner lease. The leasehold property already had two producing gas wells and the third was complete except for connection to the separator, some 1,200 feet from the new well. This new well is referred to as Kostner No. 3.
After digging the ditch, installing the pipe, and making all the connections, Doc Dale checked the line for defects and proceeded to test the new pipeline system. Plaintiff was directed by Dale to remain near the separator and read the pressure gauge. As gas surged through the pipeline system on the test, the line whipped up and an explosion ensued. Plaintiff was engulfed in flames and severely burned.
Defendant, Graves Drilling Company, Inc., was the producer-operator of the lease but had no ownership interest therein. Graves had served as the drilling contractor on the new well and had hired a completion rig to be moved onto the site. After the completion work was finished, Graves hired Doc Dale to connect the new well to the separator. This type of work was frequently done by Dale as a part of his business.
Doc Dale purchased most of the materials utilized on this job from defendant Misco-United Supply, Inc., an oil field supply company located in Medicine Lodge. Included within those purchases were fiberglass pipe, adaptors and epoxy glue which had been manufactured by defendant Ciba-Geigy Corporation.
Numerous errors in the installation and testing procedures utilized by Dale were established. They include:
AFFIDAVITS
The first issue on appeal is whether the district court erred in striking portions of three affidavits attached to plaintiff's memorandums in opposition to defendants Misco and Ciba-Geigy's motions for summary judgment.
Plaintiff's deposition was taken on May 12, 1978. Plaintiff was the only eyewitness as to the movement and rupture of the line. He testified in his deposition the pipe whipped up and broke within five feet either side of the steel-to-fiberglass connection. Five feet on the gas well side of the connection would be in the fiberglass pipe manufactured by Ciba-Geigy. Five feet on the separator side would be in the steel pipe not manufactured by Ciba-Geigy. More than three years later, on September 2, 1981, Misco filed its motion for summary judgment which included some six pages of "uncontroverted facts." On September 16, 1981, Ciba-Geigy filed its motion for summary judgment with 55 detailed "uncontroverted facts." On September 25, 1981, and October 19, 1981, plaintiff filed his memorandums in opposition to the respective summary judgment motions. Attached to the October 19, 1981, response was an affidavit of plaintiff dated October 8, 1981, which stated inter alia the pipe broke five feet into the fiberglass side of the connection.
The deposition of Doc Dale was taken on March 27, 1978. In his deposition Dale testified he believed he was well versed and well experienced in operations such as he was engaged in on the accident site. Specific examples of his testimony relative to his belief and reliance in his own expertise in hooking up wells will be set forth in the discussion of Issue No. 5. Further, Dale testified he did not read the Ciba-Geigy package inserts on making the bond of steel to fiberglass connections. The picture that came across was clearly that of a man who thought he knew *42 all there was to know about hooking up oil and gas wells and did not need to read, and would not read, instruction manuals issued in conjunction therewith.
In his two affidavits, both dated September 21, 1981, and each attached to the respective responses, a very different Doc Dale is portrayed  a man thirsting for knowledge, who, if adequately instructed by defendants Misco and Ciba-Geigy, would have performed all the steps properly and thereby avoided the explosion and resultant tragic injuries to plaintiff.
In determining the issue, Judge Calvert held:
The cases referred to by the district court, Radobenko v. Automated Equipment Corporation and Perma Research and Development Co. v. Singer Co., are sound authority for the proposition that a party who has been examined at length on deposition may not raise a fact issue and thereby defeat a summary judgment motion simply by submitting an affidavit contradicting his prior testimony.
Both federal cases involve application of Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 56 which is identical to K.S.A. 60-256. In Radobenko the Ninth circuit affirmed a district court's granting of summary judgment for defendant where plaintiff contended there had been fraud, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duties in connection with a stock repurchase option and an employment contract. In order to avoid summary judgment for defendant, plaintiff submitted an affidavit which was at odds with his prior deposition. The district court refused to consider the affidavit. In affirming the lower court, the appellate court noted:
....
After reviewing the conflicts between the deposition and affidavit, the federal appellate court declared:
The other case relied on by the district court, and also cited in Radobenko, was Perma Research and Development Co. v. Singer Co., 410 F.2d 572. In Perma Research plaintiff brought an action contending he was fraudulently induced to enter into a contract with defendant. In an affidavit filed to forestall partial summary judgment for defendant, plaintiff stated he had been advised by defendant that defendant had no intention of performing the contract. Plaintiff's affidavit was inconsistent with his prior deposition where he had said he had said he had no way of knowing what defendant's intentions were when the contract was executed. The district court granted partial summary judgment for defendant. In affirming, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals observed:
*44 Continuing:
Concluding:
Radobenko and Perma Research do not stand as isolated examples for the proposition a party may not use a contradicting affidavit against his own prior deposition testimony. See also Holifield v. Cities Service Tanker Corp., 421 F. Supp. 131, 136 (E.D. La. 1976), aff'd 552 F.2d 367 (5th Cir.1977), and Bryant v. Western Elec. Co., Inc., 572 F.2d 1087, 1088 (5th Cir.1978).
The Radobenko-Perma Research rationale is consistent with Kansas law. In Powell v. City of Haysville, 203 Kan. 543, 455 P.2d 528 (1969), defendant was granted summary judgment in an action for personal injuries. Plaintiff moved to set aside the judgment. In so moving plaintiff filed an affidavit which was at odds with his, and his doctor's, prior deposition testimony. In affirming the lower court's summary judgment for defendant, we stated:
See also Sade v. Hemstrom, 205 Kan. 514, 521, 471 P.2d 340 (1970).
Plaintiff's argument the affidavits are not inconsistent with the deposition testimony is wholly without merit. The affidavits were in direct conflict with the prior sworn testimony on extremely material facts relating to crucial issues, particularly insofar as the Dale affidavits were concerned.
Next, plaintiff likens the situation herein to that in Kennett-Murray Corp. v. Bone, 622 F.2d 887 (5th Cir.1980). Kennett-Murray is, as noted in the decision, distinguishable from the Radobenko and Perma Research cases.
In Kennett-Murray an employer brought suit against a former employee to recover on a promissory note and an employment contract. On February 23, 1978, the defendant employee was deposed. On April 21, 1978, the employee was permitted to file an amended answer. Subsequently, the employer moved for summary judgment. The employee filed an affidavit in opposition to summary judgment. The employer contended the district court should not consider the affidavit as it was inconsistent with the employee's February deposition. The trial court agreed and granted summary judgment for the employer. On appeal the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding the lower court erred when it declined to consider the employee's affidavit. The Fifth Circuit reviewed the deposition and found plaintiff's counsel's questioning confusing and the deposition, as a result of the confusing questions, was inconsistent even without reference to the affidavit. The federal appellate court found the employee's postamended answer affidavit was submitted to clarify his deposition responses in light of plaintiff's confusing questions. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stated:
Continuing:
Noting:
Each of the court cases discussed herein (Radobenko, Perma Research, Powell, and Kennett-Murray) concerns an affidavit of a party which is challenged on the basis of inconsistency with the party's prior deposition as considered in conjunction with a summary judgment motion against that party. Doc Dale technically does not come within that category. However, Doc Dale, d/b/a Doc's Backhoe and Roustabout Service, and its workers' compensation carrier, Cimarron Insurance Company, Inc., were voluntary parties as intervenors and were allied in interest with the plaintiff. They had a financial interest in any recovery by plaintiff against the defendants and were in the action as intervenors to protect their subrogated interest as authorized by K.S.A. 44-504. Under such circumstances, we see no legitimate reason why the Radobenko, Perma Research and Powell rationale should not apply with equal force to the affidavits of Doc Dale.
The questions and answers in the depositions pertinent to the issue herein are clear and free from any confusion of meaning. Over three years elapsed between their taking and the filing of the affidavits herein. The affidavits are unquestionably in direct response to the filing of the summary judgment motions. In fact, the affidavits attached to the response to the Ciba-Geigy motion (plaintiff's affidavit and one of Dale's affidavits) were not even filed until subsequent to the granting of summary judgment to Misco on October 1, 1981, and were also utilized by plaintiff in a *47 motion to reconsider said summary judgment. The summary judgment motions illuminated major flaws in plaintiff's case and the affidavits were obviously intended to contradict the prior depositions and thereby defeat the entry of summary judgment.
We conclude the district court did not err in striking the three disputed affidavits so far as they were inconsistent with, or contrary to, the respective affiant's prior deposition testimony.
AMENDMENT OF UNCONTROVERTED FACTS
The second issue is alleged error in permitting defendant Ciba-Geigy orally to add, at the summary judgment hearing, a 56th "uncontroverted" factual statement to its previously filed 55 "uncontroverted" facts.
On July 24, 1981, plaintiff took the deposition of Ciba-Geigy's marketing manager, Louis C. DiSioudi. On September 25, 1981, plaintiff took the deposition of a Ciba-Geigy's expert engineering witness, Dr. Charles R. Manning.
The Ciba-Geigy motion for summary judgment was heard on October 22-23, 1981, wherein counsel for said defendant, Ciba-Geigy stated:
Plaintiff objected to this additional factual statement and contends on appeal it is violative of Supreme Court Rule 141, (230 Kan. lxxxv).
Supreme Court Rule 141 provides in relevant part:
Plaintiff contends the record shows the district court relied on this improper factual statement in entering summary judgment and cites the following comments by Judge Calvert at the October 23, 1981, hearing:
The formal findings prepared by the district court make no *49 specific findings as to precisely where the failure occurred. It is difficult to find any reliance by the trial court on the complained-of statement.
In any event, the additional factual statement did not contain any material new to the plaintiff. His counsel had taken the DiSioudi and Manning depositions which were the sources for virtually all the additional factual statement. The Dale deposition was also well known to plaintiff as his counsel had participated therein. There is no claim of inaccuracy which went undetected by virtue of the late introduction of the statement. Even assuming the district court did rely in part on the additional statement, we see no prejudice to the plaintiff. The allowance of the additional statement was within the discretion of the district court and we find no abuse of that discretion.
MATERIAL FACTS IN DISPUTE
For his third issue on appeal plaintiff contends the district court ignored material fact issues in entering summary judgment for the defendants. The trial court made extensive findings of uncontroverted facts, relative to the Ciba-Geigy summary judgment, wherein some 55 findings of uncontroverted facts are set forth. Plaintiff finds fault with virtually every unfavorable finding in both judgments. Many of the complaints are predicated on material contained in the stricken affidavits already discussed. Nothing would be gained in this opinion by setting forth each of the numerous complaints and discussing them individually. It is sufficient to say that each specific point has been individually considered and no error of any substance has been found.
Further plaintiff complains about numerous findings of fact which he proposed, but which were not adopted by the trial court. Each point of this aspect of the issue has also been afforded careful consideration and no error has been shown. We conclude that issue three in its totality is without merit.
MANUFACTURING DEFECT
The fourth issue is whether the district court erred in holding defendant Ciba-Geigy was entitled to summary judgment on plaintiff's theory of strict liability in tort based on manufacturing defect.
At the onset it should be noted that there is no direct evidence of a specific defect in any product manufactured by Ciba-Geigy which was a component of the gas line system herein. This *50 brings us to the theory of nonspecific manufacturing defect asserted by the plaintiff. Simply put, may a manufacturing defect be proved by circumstantial evidence? In Southern Co. v. Graham Drive-In, 271 Ark. 223, 607 S.W.2d 677 (1980), plaintiff brought an action to recover on a lien on a gas storage tank it had sold to defendant. Defendant cross-claimed contending the tank was defective as it had leaked gasoline into nearby water supplies. Defendant was unable to establish a specific defect but proceeded on a nonspecific theory. Quoting from authority, the Arkansas Supreme Court commented:
In Stewart v. Ford Motor Co., 553 F.2d 130 (D.C. Cir.1977), deceased had bought a new automobile and a few days later, after driving 1,400 miles, the vehicle veered off a highway, headed straight for a bridge, and into a river. Plaintiff lacked direct evidence of a product defect but by a process of elimination was able to establish the cause of the accident originated in something produced by defendant.
Continuing:
See also Wolff v. Whittaker Marine &amp; Mgf. Co., Inc., 484 F. Supp. 1021 (E.D. Mo. 1979).
Mateika v. La Salle Thermogas Co., 94 Ill. App.3d 506, 418 N.E.2d 503 (1981), was a case involving a propane tank which *52 exploded and burned a workman. Plaintiff brought suit but had no direct evidence of product defect. Summary judgment was entered in favor of the defendant manufacturer. The Illinois Court of Appeals affirmed, stating:
The closest case in Kansas to this issue is Farmers Ins. Co. v. Smith, 219 Kan. 680, 549 P.2d 1026 (1976), a case where, coincidentally, Judge Calvert also served as trial judge. Farmers' insured purchased a new mobile home. The insureds had difficulties with the home including electrical problems. Three months after purchase and while the insureds were absent, the home burned. Numerous causes of the fire were propounded including an electrical heating tape, hot water service, power surges and a drop cord. The trial court directed verdicts for the defendants. Plaintiff produced an expert on mobile home fires who, by a process of elimination, ultimately concluded the source of the fire was a loose connection at or near the circuit breaker box in the mobile home. In holding the trial court erred in precluding the expert from giving his ultimate opinion as to the cause of the fire, we said:
....
Concluding:
The action in Farmers Ins. was predicated on breach of express or implied warranty. The direction of the verdicts was affirmed on the basis plaintiff had no evidence such loose connection, even if it were the cause of the fire, existed at the time it left the manufacturer's possession. The excluded expert testimony did not go to this issue. We see no reason, however, why the rationale of Farmers Ins. as far as proving manufacturing defects by circumstantial evidence should not apply equally to a products liability action.
*54 We believe the test cited herein from Mateika v. La Salle Thermogas Co., 94 Ill. App.3d 506, is an appropriate statement of the applicable law and we adopt the same. We therefore conclude the plaintiff, to present a prima facie strict liability case, must produce proof of three elements: (1) the injury resulted from a condition of the product; (2) the condition was an unreasonably dangerous one; and (3) the condition existed at the time it left the defendant's control. These elements may be proven inferentially, by either direct or circumstantial evidence. For circumstantial evidence to make out a prima facie case, it must tend to negate other reasonable causes, or there must be an expert opinion that the product was defective. Because liability in a products liability action cannot be based on mere speculation, guess or conjecture, the circumstances shown must justify an inference of probability as distinguished from mere possibility. While a plaintiff is not normally required to prove his case at the summary judgment stage, he must present some facts to support the elements of his claim.
The findings of the district court established blatant and massive misuse of the products as components of the system installed and tested by Doc Dale. Further, the district court held:
We conclude the district court did not err in entering summary judgment for defendant Ciba-Geigy on plaintiff's theory of strict liability in tort based on manufacturing defect.
DUTY TO WARN
The fifth issue is whether the district court erred in holding defendants were entitled to summary judgment on the claims of liability for failure to warn under theories of strict liability and negligence.
Plaintiff seeks to predicate liability on the failure to warn as to both Doc Dale and his employee, plaintiff herein. By virtue of their differing status, we shall consider them separately.
We shall first consider the issue as it relates to Doc Dale.
Doc Dale worked as a roustabout for Mull Drilling Co. prior to becoming the firm's Production Superintendent in about 1964. He continued such employment until starting his own business *55 in March 1974, which business operated under the name Doc's Backhoe and Roustabout Service. Doc Dale described his business as "setting pumping units, hooking up wells, setting tank batteries, separators and what have you." The separator on the lease in question had been put in place by Doc Dale at some date prior to the accident herein for use in conjunction with the other two wells. Dale had attended a Ciba-Geigy C-300 fiberglass installation demonstration conducted on a Mull Drilling job site in the early 1960's.
Ciba-Geigy prepared and sent to Misco an instruction manual on the installation of C-512 fiberglass pipe. No claim is made the 42-page illustrated material is in anyway inadequate or incomplete. The manual covers, step by step, the proper installation and testing of a pipeline system based on the usage of Ciba-Geigy products including fiberglass-to-steel connections. The manual was intended for the usage of Ciba-Geigy fiberglass pipe purchasers and installers. Copies of the manual were placed on the Misco sales counter and were available to Dale and other customers. Dale did not have a copy of the manual and did not read the manual.
The Misco employee with whom Doc Dale primarily transacted business was Paul Lipscomb. Mr. Lipscomb believed Dale was a good installer and his work had always been given highest recommendations for quality. Lipscomb personally knew Dale had installed at least 20,000 feet of fiberglass pipe and had no knowledge of any problems Dale might have previously encountered in the installation of fiberglass pipe. Dale, apparently, had never had an accident installing such pipe. On the day of installation of the pipe on the lease in question, Kostner No. 3, Dale went to the Misco store to purchase the materials he had determined were needed for the job. Dale characterized his method of purchasing from Misco as follows:
"Q. You just start rattling it off to him?
"A. Right."
*56 Illustrative of Dale's confidence in and reliance on his own expertise in hooking up wells are the following excerpts from his deposition:
"A. I can't say as I did.
"A. No, sir.
"A. I felt like I didn't.
....
"A. You mean the Ciba kit?
"Q. Right
....
"A. No, sir.
"Q. You had done it before and 
"A. Right.
....
"A. I figured I knew what I was doing, yes.
"A. Yes.
....
"A. Yes, right."
Under the circumstances herein did defendant Ciba-Geigy and Misco breach a duty to warn Dale of the danger resulting from improper installation and testing procedures of the pipeline system? We believe not.
In Younger v. Dow Corning Corporation, 202 Kan. 674, 451 *57 P.2d 177 (1969), the Court reiterated Restatement (Second) of Torts § 388 (1965), comment c.
In Russell v. G.A.F. Corp., 422 A.2d 989 (D.C. 1980), plaintiff was injured when a sheet of corrugated asbestos cement shattered while it was being installed. There was no evidence the product was inherently defective, either by design or manufacture; however, there was information the product could be dangerous if not properly used. The Russell court stated the general proposition of law:
The court in Russell noted:
In Harris v. Northwest Natural Gas Company, 284 Or. 571, 588 P.2d 18 (1978), plaintiff brought suit against a gas company when pilot lights on a hot water service or furnace exploded gasoline vapors which built up in a garage. The Harris court, relying upon Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (1965), commented:
In Eyster v. Borg-Warner, 131 Ga. App. 702, 206 S.E.2d 668 (1974), an electrician installing a heating and air conditioning *58 unit attached house aluminum wires to copper wires in the unit. The electrician knew aluminum-copper connections could cause fires. A fire occurred. Suit was filed against Borg-Warner, the manufacturer, for failure to warn of the hazards associated with aluminum to copper connections. The trial court granted Borg-Warner a directed verdict and the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed, stating:
In Littlehale v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours &amp; Co., 268 F. Supp. 791 (S.D.N.Y. 1966), aff'd 380 F.2d 274 (2d Cir.1967), defendant had manufactured blasting caps for the U.S. Government during World War II. In 1957, plaintiffs, a Navy seaman and a civilian employee, were conducting propagation tests for the Navy's Underwater Sound Laboratories in New London, Connecticut when one of the caps exploded prematurely. Plaintiffs alleged du Pont had failed to warn of certain inherent dangers in the use of blasting caps. In entering judgment for du Pont the federal district court observed:
The above cases refer generally to dangers associated with the use of a particular product. As previously noted in this opinion, we are not dealing with a particular product manufactured by Ciba-Geigy that is specifically claimed to be defective or have caused the injury. Some Ciba-Geigy products were used as the component parts of the pipeline system along with products manufactured by others. Under the circumstances herein, any failure to warn must be predicated on breach of some duty to instruct on proper procedures of testing the completed system.
Dale was in the business of hooking up oil and gas wells. The numerous errors he made in testing the system he installed on this job go to his basic competence to perform his trade. By analogy, is a manufacturer or supplier of plumbing materials required to instruct every professional plumbing contractor to whom its plumbing products may be sold on basic plumbing procedures? We believe not. The installation of a gas pipeline system is obviously a highly specialized industrial field of endeavor  not the weekend activity of a neophyte do-it-yourselfer. Inherent in any installation of a system to transport natural gas under pressure from one place to another is the risk of fire and explosion. Under the circumstances herein it would be wholly unrealistic to hold that Misco's employee, Mr. Lipscomb, had a duty to refuse to sell Dale the pipeline component parts in question until he explained to him the fundamentals of pipeline installation and testing procedures, or had required Dale to read the 42-page Ciba-Geigy installation manual.
In Thibodaux v. McWane Cast Iron Pipe Co., 381 F.2d 491 (5th Cir.1967), a manufacturer sold cast iron gas pipe to a Louisiana town. Town officials knew the local soil was corrosive upon metal in the ground. Twenty-one years after the pipes had been laid a residential gas explosion occurred. The explosion's cause was determined to be a hole in the pipe due to the caustic nature of the soil. Plaintiff homeowner brought an action contending defendant-manufacturer had breached its duty to warn in not telling the town officials about what effect soil may have on metal pipes. The federal district court granted defendant a directed verdict and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. After noting a nondefective cast iron pipe was not, in and of itself, a dangerous substance nor that there was any danger *60 inherent in such pipe, the court observed town officials already knew of the corrosive effect of the soil.
Continuing:
Concluding:
K.S.A. 1982 Supp. 60-3305, although enacted after the incident herein, states the generally applicable rules of law as follows:
We conclude the district court did not err in entering summary judgments for defendants Misco and Ciba-Geigy on the issue of failure to warn Dale.
We turn now to the failure to warn issue as it relates to plaintiff himself.
*61 Plaintiff was working as a roustabout for Dale at the time of the explosion. He had only a few weeks experience working in such capacity. He was working under the direct supervision of Dale. Dale was in charge of the installation. In Dale's deposition the issue of control of the installation was explored, specifically as to the role of the Graves' employee Bob Miller. The following questions and answers were made:
"Q. You're the boss?
"A. Right.
"Q. And who is it, you?
"Q. It's your baby to do it your way?
"A. Yes, sir, right." (Emphasis supplied.)
Dale was in charge of the installation and testing of the system and he wholly controlled what was done that day. Were Misco and/or Ciba-Geigy under some duty to instruct plaintiff in basic gas pipeline laying and system testing? We believe not. To hold otherwise would place an impossible burden on manufacturers and sellers of industrial products.
As previously noted, the hooking up of a natural gas well is a highly specialized industrial activity. The danger of explosion and fire during such activities is common knowledge. The determination of the testing procedures to be utilized is under the control of the person in charge of the installation. This may be distinguished from the operation of a machine commonly used by low echelon personnel or laborers where a simple warning on the machine may be necessary to advise or remind its users of a particular danger in the use of the machine. Misco and Ciba-Geigy are not under a duty to provide each employee of the installer of their products with the manual on proper installation and testing procedures or otherwise train such employees.
We conclude the trial court did not err in entering summary judgment in favor of Misco and Ciba-Geigy on the issue of failure to warn plaintiff.
EXPRESS WARRANTY
The sixth issue on appeal is whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment to defendants on plaintiff's claim of breach of express warranties.
*62 Plaintiff contends express warranties were created by Ciba-Geigy and Misco under K.S.A. 84-2-313(1)(a) and (c), reproduced as follows:
....
Specifically, plaintiff contends the fiberglass pipe failed to withstand its rated 1400 p.s.i. testing pressure which was expressly warranted pursuant to (a) section above. Further, plaintiff contends improper installation procedures shown Doc Dale in the early 1960's by defendants constituted a breach of express warranty under section (c) of the statute.
We shall first discuss the point relative to failure of the fiberglass pipe. The pipe was a component part of the pipeline system installed by Dale to connect the oil and gas well to the separator and tank battery. The failure of the system was due to improper installation, improper testing procedures, or one or more defective component parts. Plaintiff simply did not produce evidence tending to show the cause of the system's failure was inability of the fiberglass pipe to withstand pressure up to its warranty capacity of 1400 p.s.i. Additionally, there are the previously referred to findings of grossly improper testing procedures of the system which clearly constituted product misuse.
We turn now to the point of alleged breach of express warranty stemming from the training session. The training session occurred at least ten years prior to the 1976 explosion herein and involved procedures for installing a low-pressure C-300 Ciba-Geigy fiberglass pipe. The pipe herein was a much newer product, a C-512 high-pressure pipe. In the intervening years Doc Dale had extensive experience in installing all types of oil and gas line pipe. Under the circumstances herein, it simply cannot be said Doc Dale purchased the C-512 pipe in reliance on anything said or done in the old C-300 training session or that same was a "basis for the bargain." To do so would mean the 1960's training session was some type of express warranty attaching *63 to the use and purchase of all subsequent Ciba-Geigy pipeline products  a wholly unsupportable position.
In disposing of the express warranty claim the district court stated:
We conclude the district court did not err in granting summary judgment to defendant on the issue of breach of express warranties.
WORKERS' COMPENSATION
The final issue concerns the propriety of the summary judgment entered in favor of defendant Graves Drilling Company, Inc., on the basis that said defendant was the statutory employer of plaintiff pursuant to K.S.A. 44-503(a). Said statute provides in pertinent part:
The facts relative to the nature of Graves' business and its relationship to the type of work activity giving rise to the injury herein must be set forth in detail.
Graves Drilling Company, Inc., is a corporation engaged in the business of leasing, developing, operating and producing oil and gas properties. There were two producing gas wells on the Kostner lease property along with a separator and a tank battery. Graves was the operator-producer of this particular lease, but had no ownership interest in it. Graves operated the lease for the owners under an oral agreement. There was no production on the lease prior to the time Graves became the operator thereof. Under the operating agreement Graves was paid a monthly overhead and supervising charge. Graves hired an independent pumper for the lease who was paid by Graves, but the cost *64 thereof was passed on to the owner. Graves supervised the operation, made minor repairs, and arranged for major repairs to be done.
Sometime prior to the December 18, 1976, accident the owners of the lease decided a third gas well should be drilled. Included in the duties of operator/producer Graves was the responsibility of transforming this decision into the creation of the third producing well. Graves as operator/producer of the lease hired Graves as drilling contractor to drill the well. The cost of same was passed on to the owners on a set charge per foot of drilling basis. After the well had been drilled Graves hired an outside firm to complete the well. After completion of the well, all that remained to be done was to hook up said well to the existing separator and tank battery some 1,200 feet away. This involved digging a suitable ditch and installing a pipeline between the well and the separator.
Graves performed the hookup procedure on about 30 percent of the wells it drilled, but elected to hire an outside firm, Doc's Backhoe and Roustabout Service, to hook up the well in question. Plaintiff was an employee of Doc's company. Graves did not own digging equipment and, when hooking up wells itself, would hire someone with trenching equipment to dig the necessary ditches. Graves may or may not have had enough roustabouts on the payroll on the day in question to have performed the hookup operation itself. Its Superintendent of Production was experienced in well hookups. When Graves hooks up new wells the owners are charged for the payroll labor.
Under the circumstances herein was Graves the statutory employer of plaintiff? We believe that it was.
In Fugit, Administratrix v. United Beechcraft, Inc., 222 Kan. 312, 564 P.2d 521 (1977), we held:
In Woods v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 220 Kan. 479, 553 P.2d 900 (1976), the appropriate test was enunciated as follows:
See also Zehring v. Wickman, 232 Kan. 704, 658 P.2d 1004 (1983), and Hanna v. CRA, Inc., 196 Kan. 156, 409 P.2d 786 (1966).
The provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act are to be liberally construed to bring workers under the act whether or not it is desirable for the specific individual's circumstances. Orr v. Holiday Inns, Inc., 230 Kan. 271, 634 P.2d 1067, adopting 6 Kan. App.2d 335, 627 P.2d 1193 (1981).
The business of Graves is leasing, developing, operating and producing oil and gas properties. The undisputed facts show the drilling of wells, their completion, and their hookup to tank batteries were integral parts of such business. Further, Graves, as producer/operator of the lease, had the responsibility of bringing the new well into production  either by performing the necessary work itself or hiring it done by outsiders.
We conclude the trial court did not err in entering summary judgment in favor of defendant Graves Drilling Company, Inc., on the basis that said company was the statutory employer of plaintiff and hence plaintiff's sole remedy was under the Workmen's Compensation Act.
CONCLUSION
The entry of summary judgment in favor of each of the defendants is affirmed.