Title: Derrick Robertson v. Gaddy Electric and Plumbing, LLC
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 1081351
State: Alabama
Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court
Date: April 9, 2010

REL:04/09/2010 
Notice: T h i s o p i n i o n i s s u b j e c t t o f o r m a l 
r e v i s i o n b e f o r e 
p u b l i c a t i o n i n 
t h e 
advance 
s h e e t s o f 
Southern Reporter. 
R e a d e r s a r e 
r e q u e s t e d t o n o t i f y t h e 
Reporter of 
Decisions, 
Alabama 
A p p e l l a t e C o u r t s , 300 D e x t e r 
Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 
((334) 
2 2 9 - 0 6 4 9 ) , o f 
any t y p o g r a p h i c a l o r o t h e r e r r o r s , i n 
o r d e r t h a t c o r r e c t i o n s may be made 
b e f o r e t h e 
o p i n i o n i s 
p r i n t e d i n 
Southern Reporter. 
SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA 
OCTOBER TERM, 2009-2010 
1081351 
D e r r i c k Robertson 
v. 
Gaddy E l e c t r i c and Plumbing, LLC 
Appeal from Marengo C i r c u i t Court 
(CV-04-32) 
BOLIN, 
J u s t i c e . 
D e r r i c k 
R o b e r t s o n 
a p p e a l s 
f r o m a j u d g m e n t e n t e r e d on a 
j u r y 
v e r d i c t i n f a v o r o f Gaddy 
E l e c t r i c a n d P l u m b i n g , LLC 
( " G a d d y " ) , i n 
h i s p e r s o n a l - i n j u r y a c t i o n s e e k i n g damages f o r 
Gaddy's a l l e g e d n e g l i g e n c e a n d w a n t o n n e s s . 
1081351 
P r o c e d u r a l 
H i s t o r y 
R o b e r t s o n was e m p l o y e d by C o l l i n s C o m m u n i c a t i o n s , 
w h i c h 
was 
h i r e d t o u p g r a d e 
a v i d e o s y s t e m , 
i . e . , c o m m u n i c a t i o n s 
c a b l e , 
t e l e p h o n e w i r i n g , and d a t a w i r i n g , a t t h e C o m m e r c i a l 
Bank o f D e m o p o l i s ( " t h e b a n k " ) . 
R o b e r t s o n went t o t h e b a n k on 
S e p t e m b e r 12, 2 0 0 2 , t o r u n o r t o move v i d e o c a b l e t h r o u g h a 
" c h a s e , " o r c h a n n e l , above t h e c e i l i n g i n t h e " d r i v e - i n r o o m " 
o f t h e b a n k .
1 
W h i l e i n t h e d r i v e - i n room, R o b e r t s o n c l i m b e d 
h i s 
l a d d e r , 
l i f t e d a c e i l i n g 
t i l e 
f r o m t h e c e i l i n g , went up 
t h e 
i n t o 
t h e c e i l i n g 
a b o u t 
" m i d - s t o m a c h , " 
and l o c a t e d t h e 
c h a s e i n w h i c h t o r u n t h e c a b l e . 
When R o b e r t s o n s t a r t e d 
b a c k 
down t h e l a d d e r , h i s l e f t h a n d came i n c o n t a c t w i t h a m e t a l 
o b j e c t , 
c a u s i n g h i m t o r e c e i v e an e l e c t r i c a l s h o c k ; he 
f e l l 
f r o m t h e l a d d e r . 
R o b e r t s o n s u e d Gaddy, t h e company t h a t h a d 
i n i t i a l l y 
i n s t a l l e d 
t h e 
e l e c t r i c a l 
w i r i n g 
i n t h e 
b a n k 
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 
10 
y e a r s 
e a r l i e r . 
S p e c i f i c a l l y , 
R o b e r t s o n 
a l l e g e d t h a t Gaddy h a d n e g l i g e n t l y a n d / o r w a n t o n l y 
i n s t a l l e d , 
m a i n t a i n e d , 
o r r e p a i r e d 
t h e e l e c t r i c a l 
w i r i n g , 
c r e a t i n g a 
d a n g e r o u s 
c o n d i t i o n . 
The c a s e was 
t r i e d b e f o r e a j u r y . A t 
1 B o t h 
p a r t i e s 
r e f e r 
t o t h e room where 
R o b e r t s o n 
was 
i n j u r e d as t h e " d r i v e - i n room," w h i c h i s t h e room where t h e 
t e l l e r e q u i p m e n t 
f o r 
t h e d r i v e - t h r o u g h window i s l o c a t e d . 
2 
1081351 
t r i a l , Gaddy a s s e r t e d t h e a f f i r m a t i v e d e f e n s e s o f c o n t r i b u t o r y 
n e g l i g e n c e and a s s u m p t i o n o f t h e r i s k . 
R o b e r t s o n moved f o r a 
j u d g m e n t as a m a t t e r o f l a w on t h o s e d e f e n s e s , w h i c h t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t d e n i e d . 
Gaddy a l s o moved f o r a j u d g m e n t as a m a t t e r o f 
l a w . 
The 
t r i a l 
c o u r t g r a n t e d Gaddy's m o t i o n 
and 
e n t e r e d a 
j u d g m e n t as a m a t t e r o f l a w on t h e i s s u e o f w a n t o n n e s s ; t h e 
n e g l i g e n c e c l a i m s and t h e a f f i r m a t i v e d e f e n s e s were s u b m i t t e d 
t o 
t h e j u r y . 
The 
j u r y r e t u r n e d a v e r d i c t i n f a v o r o f Gaddy. 
R o b e r t s o n 
f i l e d a p o s t - j u d g m e n t 
m o t i o n f o r a new 
t r i a l , 
w h i c h 
t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t d e n i e d . 
R o b e r t s o n 
a p p e a l s . 
We 
a f f i r m 
i n 
p a r t , r e v e r s e i n p a r t , and remand. 
F a c t s 
The 
m e t a l 
o b j e c t 
t h a t c a u s e d 
t h e 
e l e c t r i c a l 
s h o c k when 
R o b e r t s o n ' s h a n d came i n c o n t a c t w i t h i t was 
a j u n c t i o n 
box 
f o r a l i g h t 
s w i t c h t h a t o p e r a t e d an o v e r h e a d 
l i g h t 
f i x t u r e i n 
t h e 
d r i v e - i n room. 
S p e c i f i c a l l y 
a t i s s u e was 
t h e 
e l e c t r i c a l 
l i n e o r c i r c u i t r u n n i n g f r o m t h e l i g h t s w i t c h t o t h e 
j u n c t i o n 
b o x . 
The 
a p p l i c a b l e 
code and 
b u i l d i n g 
p l a n s i n t h i s 
c a s e 
r e q u i r e d t h e p r e s e n c e 
o f two 
s e p a r a t e g r o u n d s : ( 1 ) a 
g r o u n d 
w i r e r u n n i n g f r o m t h e l i g h t s w i t c h t o t h e j u n c t i o n box and ( 2 ) 
EMT, 
w h i c h 
i s a 
s o l i d , 
r i g i d 
e l e c t r i c a l 
m e t a l 
t u b i n g 
o r 
c o n d u i t t h r o u g h w h i c h t h r e e w i r e s r u n . 
The 
EMT 
s e r v e s as a 
3 
1081351 
s e c o n d a r y g r o u n d when i t i s p r o p e r l y 
a t t a c h e d 
t o t h e 
j u n c t i o n 
box. 
A t 
t r i a l , 
R o b e r t s o n s o u g h t 
t o show t h a t 
t h e r e 
was 
no 
g r o u n d w i r e p r e s e n t i n t h e EMT 
o r c o n d u i t ; t h a t t h e 
s e c o n d a r y 
g r o u n d 
-- 
EMT 
o r 
c o n d u i t 
-- 
was 
n o t 
t h e 
c o m m e r c i a l 
g r a d e 
r e q u i r e d by 
t h e b u i l d i n g p l a n s ; and 
t h a t 
t h e 
c o n d u i t 
was 
n o t 
c o n n e c t e d 
t o 
t h e 
j u n c t i o n box, 
t h e r e b y 
c r e a t i n g 
a d a n g e r o u s 
c o n d i t i o n . 
J e r r y Gaddy, t h e owner o f Gaddy, t e s t i f i e d 
as 
an 
e x p e r t 
a t 
t r i a l . 
He 
s t a t e d t h a t h i s company had 
i n s t a l l e d 
t h e 
w i r i n g 
i n t h e b a n k a c c o r d i n g 
t o t h e t h e n a p p l i c a b l e code 
and 
a c c o r d i n g 
t o t h e 
b u i l d i n g p l a n s . 
He 
s t a t e d 
t h a t 
t h e 
EMT 
o r 
c o n d u i t comes a s s e m b l e d and 
t h a t t h e r e 
a r e t h r e e w i r e s 
i n s i d e 
i t : a w i r e 
t h a t c a r r i e s t h e c h a r g e , a n e u t r a l w i r e , and 
a 
w i r e 
t h a t 
a c t s 
as 
a g r o u n d . 
I t 
i s u n d i s p u t e d 
t h a t 
d u r i n g 
t h e 
c o n s t r u c t i o n p h a s e 
o f 
t h e b a n k 
a 
c i t y 
i n s p e c t o r 
i n s p e c t e d 
Gaddy's e l e c t r i c a l work on two 
s e p a r a t e o c c a s i o n s 
and t h a t 
t h e 
w o r k p a s s e d 
i n s p e c t i o n b o t h t i m e s . 
J e r r y Gaddy a l s o 
s t a t e d 
t h a t 
h i s 
e m p l o y e e s 
a l w a y s 
c h e c k 
t h e i r 
own 
w o r k . 
B a r b a r a 
W i n t e r s , 
t h e 
b r a n c h manager 
o f 
t h e 
bank 
a t 
t h e 
t i m e 
o f 
R o b e r t s o n ' s a c c i d e n t , 
t e s t i f i e d t h a t d u r i n g t h e 1 0 - y e a r p e r i o d 
b e f o r e 
R o b e r t s o n ' s 
a c c i d e n t 
t h e r e 
had 
n o t b e e n any 
p r o b l e m s 
w i t h 
t h e 
l i g h t 
s w i t c h e s 
i n 
t h e 
d r i v e - i n 
room 
and 
t h a t 
t h e 
d r i v e - i n 
room 
had 
n e v e r b e e n 
r e m o d e l e d , 
r e p a i n t e d , 
o r 
r e -
4 
1081351 
w a l l p a p e r e d . 
However, she d i d s t a t e t h a t t h e e q u i p m e n t i n t h e 
d r i v e - i n room was 
p e r i o d i c a l l y 
" w o r k e d on" 
a n d / o r 
u p g r a d e d . 
The 
t e s t i m o n y 
was 
i n c o n c l u s i v e 
as 
t o 
w h e t h e r 
s i n c e 
t h e 
o r i g i n a l 
c o n s t r u c t i o n Gaddy had made any 
r e p a i r s t o t h e 
a r e a 
where 
t h e 
a c c i d e n t 
o c c u r r e d . 
However, 
n o t h i n g 
i n Gaddy's 
i n v o i c e s 
i n d i c a t e d t h a t Gaddy had 
p e r f o r m e d any work i n 
t h e 
d r i v e - i n 
room, 
o t h e r 
t h a n 
t h e 
o r i g i n a l 
c o n s t r u c t i o n 
w o r k . 
I m m e d i a t e l y f o l l o w i n g R o b e r t s o n ' s a c c i d e n t , J e r r y Gaddy went 
t o 
t h e 
s c e n e 
t o 
i n s p e c t 
t h e 
w i r i n g where 
t h e 
a c c i d e n t 
had 
o c c u r r e d 
and 
t o make t h e n e c e s s a r y 
r e p a i r s . Upon i n s p e c t i o n , 
J e r r y Gaddy d i s c o v e r e d a s h o r t i n t h e g r o u n d w i r e , i . e . , t h e r e 
was 
a b a r e s p o t on t h e w i r e a n d / o r t h e w i r e was 
n o t 
t h o r o u g h l y 
o r 
c o m p l e t e l y 
c o n n e c t e d , 
c a u s i n g 
t h e 
a b s e n c e 
o f 
a 
g r o u n d . 
J e r r y Gaddy t e s t i f i e d t h a t t h e s h o r t a c t u a l l y c a u s e d t h e m e t a l 
c o n d u i t 
t o be 
" h o t . " 
J e r r y Gaddy a l s o 
s t a t e d t h a t when 
he 
i n s p e c t e d 
t h e 
a r e a 
where 
t h e 
a c c i d e n t 
had 
o c c u r r e d , 
e v e r y t h i n g , 
so 
f a r as he 
c o u l d 
t e l l , 
b e t w e e n t h e 
s w i t c h 
and 
t h e 
j u n c t i o n box 
was 
i n t a c t , 
a p p a r e n t l y 
i n d i c a t i n g 
t h a t 
t h e 
EMT 
was 
a t t a c h e d 
t o t h e 
j u n c t i o n box. 
However, he 
a d m i t t e d 
t h a t , 
f o r t h e a c c i d e n t 
t o h a v e h a p p e n e d , t h e r e 
o b v i o u s l y 
had 
t o h a v e b e e n some 
s o r t 
o f 
d i s c o n n e c t i o n 
somewhere. 
J e r r y 
5 
1081351 
Gaddy t e s t i f i e d t h a t s h o r t s c a n d e v e l o p a f t e r c o n s t r u c t i o n and 
t h a t a g r o u n d c a n become d i s c o n n e c t e d 
a f t e r c o n s t r u c t i o n . 
R o b e r t s o n 
and 
h i s c o - e m p l o y e e , 
R a n d a l l 
S m i t h , 
a l s o 
t e s t i f i e d a t t r i a l . 
T h e i r t e s t i m o n y was c o n f l i c t i n g 
r e g a r d i n g 
t h e 
number 
o f w i r e s 
p r e s e n t 
i n t h e c o n d u i t , t h e t y p e 
o r 
q u a l i t y o f c o n d u i t 
p r e s e n t 
i n t h e c e i l i n g , and w h e t h e r t h e 
c o n d u i t 
was 
a t t a c h e d 
t o t h e j u n c t i o n box a t t h e t i m e 
o f 
R o b e r t s o n ' s a c c i d e n t . 
A l t h o u g h 
R o b e r t s o n c o n t e n d s on 
a p p e a l 
t h a t t h e r e q u i r e d g r o u n d w i r e was n o t p r e s e n t 
i n t h e EMT o r 
c o n d u i t 
a t t h e t i m e o f h i s a c c i d e n t , he 
t e s t i f i e d a t 
t r i a l 
t h a t he h a d a c h a n c e t o l o o k a t t h e damaged w i r e b e f o r e i t was 
r e p a i r e d and t h a t t h e w i r e was n o t a t t a c h e d t o 
a n y t h i n g . 
"Q. 
Mr. R o b e r t s o n , and ... you were t a l k i n g 
a b o u t 
how you saw a p a r t o f t h e m e t a l 
c l a d 
c o n d u i t 
h a d 
b e e n r e m o v e d and a p i e c e o f Romex p u t i n p l a c e . 
Do 
you s e e t h a t ? 
"A. 
Uh-huh. 
"Q. 
T e l l us what Romex 
i s . 
"A. 
Romex i s a n o n m e t a l l i c 
s h e a t h e d 
c a b l e . 
I t ' s 
PVC j a c k e t e d . 
I t ' s t y p i c a l l y what a homeowner w o u l d 
go t o Lowe's 
o r 
o f f i c e - - a home 
s u p p l y 
h o u s e and 
p u r c h a s e f o r home w i r i n g . 
"Q. 
... 
"Q. 
Now, i n t h i s c a s e what you saw was a p i e c e o f 
Romex. 
Am I u n d e r s t a n d i n g 
... t h a t what you saw was 
6 
1081351 
a p i e c e o f Romex t h a t h a d t h e b l a c k and w h i t e 
w i r e s 
as w e l l as a c o p p e r w i r e 
[ i . e . , g r o u n d w i r e ] ? 
"A. 
T h a t ' s 
r i g h t . 
"Q. 
And t h e c o p p e r w i r e was t h e w i r e t h a t you saw 
f o l d e d b a c k and n o t a t t a c h e d t o a n y t h i n g ? 
"A. 
T h a t ' s 
r i g h t . " 
S m i t h 
t e s t i f i e d t h a t he was p r e s e n t as w e l l b e f o r e any r e p a i r s 
were made t o t h e w i r e s 
and t h a t t h e g r o u n d 
w i r e was n o t 
p r e s e n t i n t h e c o n d u i t a t a l l . 
T h e r e was a l s o 
c o n f l i c t i n g 
t e s t i m o n y r e g a r d i n g t h e t y p e o f c o n d u i t p r e s e n t i n 
t h e c e i l i n g 
a r e a . Gaddy t e s t i f i e d t h a t t h e b u i l d i n g p l a n s c a l l e d f o r EMT. 
R o b e r t s o n 
t e s t i f i e d t h a t he saw EMT, MC 
( m e t a l c l a d ) 
c o n d u i t , 
and Romex i n 
t h e c e i l i n g . 
S m i t h , h o w e v e r , 
t e s t i f i e d t h a t t h e 
c o n d u i t 
o r t u b i n g 
t h a t he saw was n o t EMT, 
b u t was 
MC. 
F u r t h e r m o r e , 
R o b e r t s o n 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t when he 
e n t e r e d t h e 
c e i l i n g he saw " t h a t t h e r e were m e t a l c l a d c a b l e s and c o n d u i t s 
t h a t was r i g h t i n f r o n t o f [ h i m ] " and t h a t he d i d 
n o t s e e t h a t 
t h e m e t a l c o n d u i t h a d b e e n p u l l e d away f r o m t h e j u n c t i o n b o x . 
H i s c o - e m p l o y e e , S m i t h , h o w e v e r , t e s t i f i e d t h a t when he l o o k e d 
up 
i n t o t h e c e i l i n g , 
he c o u l d s e e t h a t t h e c o n d u i t was n o t 
a t t a c h e d t o a n y t h i n g . 
S m i t h f u r t h e r t e s t i f i e d t h a t t h e r e were 
o t h e r 
" i t e m s " 
on t h e same 
c i r c u i t , 
so 
t h e r e 
were 
o t h e r 
c o n d u i t s c o m i n g o u t o f t h e same j u n c t i o n b o x . 
7 
1081351 
J e r r y 
Gaddy 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t 
i f 
t h e 
w i r i n g 
had 
b e e n 
i n s t a l l e d a c c o r d i n g t o how 
S m i t h saw 
i t , i . e . , w i t h t h e g r o u n d 
w i r e m i s s i n g , 
and b o t h MC 
and Romex p r e s e n t , 
t h e n t h e 
w i r i n g 
w o u l d 
n o t 
h a v e 
p a s s e d 
i n s p e c t i o n 
d u r i n g 
t h e 
c o n s t r u c t i o n 
p h a s e . 
T h e r e was 
no e v i d e n c e o f f e r e d t o show how 
t h e 
s h o r t 
was 
c r e a t e d ; 
t h e r e 
was 
no 
e v i d e n c e 
o f f e r e d 
t o show t h a t 
a 
s h o r t 
e x i s t e d when Gaddy 
i n s t a l l e d 
t h e 
i n i t i a l 
w i r i n g ; 
and 
t h e r e 
was 
no 
t e s t i m o n y 
o f f e r e d t o show t h a t t h e 
c o n d u i t 
was 
n o t 
a t t a c h e d 
t o t h e 
j u n c t i o n box 
a t t h e t i m e Gaddy 
i n i t i a l l y 
i n s t a l l e d i t . 
W a n t o n n e s s 
R o b e r t s o n a r g u e s t h a t t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
e r r e d i n e n t e r i n g 
a 
j u d g m e n t 
as 
a m a t t e r 
o f 
l a w 
f o r Gaddy 
on 
t h e 
i s s u e 
o f 
w a n t o n n e s s . 
R o b e r t s o n 
a r g u e s 
t h a t 
t h e r e 
was 
s u f f i c i e n t 
e v i d e n c e t o c r e a t e a q u e s t i o n o f f a c t f r o m w h i c h a j u r y c o u l d 
c o n c l u d e 
t h a t Gaddy a c t e d 
w i t h 
r e c k l e s s i n d i f f e r e n c e t o i t s 
d u t y t o use EMT 
and a g r o u n d w i r e f r o m t h e 
l i g h t s w i t c h t o 
t h e 
j u n c t i o n box 
and t h a t t h e 
f a i l u r e t o use e i t h e r one 
o r b o t h o f 
t h o s e 
p r o t e c t i o n s was 
t h e 
p r o x i m a t e 
c a u s e 
o f 
h i s 
i n j u r i e s . 
Gaddy a r g u e s t h a t R o b e r t s o n f a i l e d t o p r e s e n t 
t h i s a r g u m e n t t o 
t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t b e c a u s e he d i d n o t 
r a i s e t h e w a n t o n n e s s 
i s s u e 
i n 
h i s m o t i o n f o r a new 
t r i a l . 
I n s u p p o r t 
o f i t s p o s i t i o n , 
8 
1081351 
Gaddy 
c i t e s 
C a r t e r 
v. 
T r e a d w a y 
T r u c k i n g , 
I n c . , 
611 
So. 
2d 
1034, 
1035 
( A l a . 1 9 9 2 ) , i n w h i c h t h i s C o u r t 
s t a t e d : 
"[A] 
t r i a l c o u r t c a n n o t be h e l d i n e r r o r f o r 
f a i l u r e 
t o r u l e on 
a m a t t e r n o t 
p r e s e n t e d 
t o i t o r 
d e c i d e d 
by 
i t . 
See 
a l s o L o w d e r R e a l t y Co. 
v. S a b r y , 542 
So. 
2d 
1240 
( A l a . 
1 9 8 9 ) . 
T h e r e f o r e , 
[ R o b e r t s o n ' s ] 
f a i l u r e 
t o 
r a i s e 
a 
s u f f i c i e n c y - o f - t h e - e v i d e n c e 
a r g u m e n t i n h i s m o t i o n 
f o r new 
t r i a l 
p r e c l u d e s 
any 
c o n s i d e r a t i o n 
o f 
t h e 
m e r i t s 
o f 
t h i s 
i s s u e 
on 
a p p e a l . " 
We 
n o t e t h a t 
l e s s t h a n a y e a r 
a f t e r C a r t e r 
was 
d e c i d e d 
t h i s 
C o u r t 
d e c i d e d 
C l a r k 
v. 
B l a c k , 
630 
So. 
2d 
1012 
( A l a . 
1 9 9 3 ) , i n w h i c h t h i s C o u r t h e l d t h a t t h e 
p l a i n t i f f ' s 
f a i l u r e 
t o a l l e g e i n h i s m o t i o n f o r a new 
t r i a l 
t h a t t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
had 
e r r e d 
i n d i r e c t i n g a v e r d i c t 
f o r 
t h e 
d e f e n d a n t 
on 
h i s 
w a n t o n n e s s c l a i m d i d n o t 
b a r 
r e v i e w 
o f 
t h e w a n t o n n e s s 
i s s u e 
on 
a p p e a l . 
The 
C l a r k 
C o u r t 
r e a s o n e d 
t h a t , 
a l t h o u g h 
an 
u n s u c c e s s f u l m o v a n t ' s f a i l u r e t o p r e s e n t 
t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
w i t h 
an 
o p p o r t u n i t y 
t o 
r e v i s i t 
t h e 
s u f f i c i e n c y - o f - t h e - e v i d e n c e 
i s s u e i n a m o t i o n f o r a j u d g m e n t n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g 
t h e 
v e r d i c t 
(now 
c a l l e d 
a r e n e w e d m o t i o n 
f o r a j u d g m e n t as 
a m a t t e r 
o f 
l a w , 
see 
R u l e 
50, 
A l a . 
R. 
C i v . 
P.) 
p r e c l u d e s 
r e v e r s a l 
on 
a p p e a l o f t h e d e n i a l o f t h e m o t i o n f o r a d i r e c t e d v e r d i c t 
(now 
c a l l e d 
a j u d g m e n t as 
a m a t t e r 
o f 
l a w , 
see 
R u l e 
50, 
A l a . 
R. 
C i v . 
P . ) , 
9 
1081351 
"a 
t r i a l 
j u d g e 
does 
n o t 
g r a n t 
a 
m o t i o n 
f o r a 
[ j u d g m e n t 
as 
a 
m a t t e r 
o f l a w ] 
w i t h 
a 
v i e w 
t o 
r e s e r v i n g 
t h e 
i s s u e 
f o r 
r e v i s i t a t i o n . 
On 
t h e 
c o n t r a r y , he d o e s so w i t h a v i e w t o t e r m i n a t i n g t h e 
i s s u e , 
t h a t 
i s , t o 
'save 
t h e t i m e 
a n d 
t r o u b l e 
i n v o l v e d 
i n a 
l e n g t h y 
j u r y 
d e t e r m i n a t i o n . ' 
9 C. 
W r i g h t & A. M i l l e r , 
F e d e r a l 
P r a c t i c e and P r o c e d u r e 
§ 2521 
( 1 9 7 1 ) . 
" T h a t t h e R u l e s 
do n o t , a n d , l o g i c a l l y , 
n e e d 
n o t , 
c o n t a i n 
a 
[ j u d g m e n t - a s - m a t t e r - o f - l a w ] 
' c o u n t e r p a r t ' 
a p p l i c a b l e t o a p a r t y 
a g a i n s t whom a 
v e r d i c t h a s b e e n d i r e c t e d , h a r d l y d e s e r v e s a p a s s i n g 
r e f e r e n c e . 
Had t h e t r i a l 
c o u r t 
[ e n t e r e d a j u d g m e n t 
as a m a t t e r o f l a w ] f o r B l a c k on b o t h 
t h e o r i e s o f 
r e c o v e r y 
i n t h i s 
c a s e , 
t h a t 
i s , on t h e w a n t o n n e s s 
c l a i m 
and t h e n e g l i g e n c e 
c l a i m , 
n o 
p o s t - j u d g m e n t 
m o t i o n 
w o u l d 
have 
b e e n 
r e q u i r e d 
t o p r e s e r v e 
t h e 
s u f f i c i e n c y - o f - t h e - e v i d e n c e 
i s s u e s 
f o r 
a p p e l l a t e 
r e v i e w . 
L o g i c and t h e p o l i c y o f t h e R u l e s o f 
C i v i l 
and 
A p p e l l a t e P r o c e d u r e t h u s c o m p e l us t o c o n c l u d e 
t h a t t h i s c a s e i s n o t w i t h i n t h e s u f f i c i e n c y - o f - t h e -
e v i d e n c e 
e x c e p t i o n 
e x p r e s s e d 
i n 
McGough 
v . 
 
S l a u g h t e r , 
395 
So. 
2d 
972 
( A l a . 
1 9 8 1 ) . 
C o n s e q u e n t l y , 
we 
w i l l 
p r o c e e d 
t o 
r e v i e w 
t h e 
s u f f i c i e n c y o f t h e e v i d e n c e o f w a n t o n n e s s . " 
630 So. 2d a t 1016. We a g r e e w i t h t h e r e a s o n i n g i n C l a r k , and 
we o v e r r u l e C a r t e r t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t i t 
c o n f l i c t s w i t h C l a r k . 
We n o t e t h a t C a r t e r r e l i e s on t h e f a l s e p r e m i s e t h a t t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t c a n n o t be h e l d i n e r r o r f o r 
a m a t t e r n o t p r e s e n t e d t o i t 
when t h e t r i a l 
c o u r t 
t h e r e , i n g r a n t i n g a d i r e c t e d 
v e r d i c t , 
d i d 
d e c i d e t h e i s s u e . 
A t h o r o u g h 
r e v i e w 
o f t h e r e c o r d 
r e v e a l s no s u b s t a n t i a l 
e v i d e n c e t h a t w o u l d w a r r a n t s u b m i s s i o n o f t h e w a n t o n n e s s i s s u e 
10 
1081351 
t o 
t h e 
j u r y . 
J u r y 
i n s t r u c t i o n s 
f o r w a n t o n n e s s 
r e q u i r e d 
R o b e r t s o n 
t o p r e s e n t 
s u b s t a n t i a l 
e v i d e n c e 
t h a t Gaddy 
a c t e d 
w i t h " k n o w l e d g e o f t h e d a n g e r o r a c o n s c i o u s n e s s t h a t 
i n j u r y 
was 
l i k e l y 
t o 
r e s u l t 
f r o m 
an 
a c t 
o r 
o m i s s i o n 
t o 
a c t . " 
B u r l i n g t o n N o r t h e r n R.R. 
v. W h i t t , 575 So. 2d 1011, 
1021 
( A l a . 
1 9 9 0 ) . 
As 
p r e v i o u s l y 
n o t e d , 
Gaddy's 
w o r k 
p a s s e d 
c i t y 
i n s p e c t i o n on two s e p a r a t e o c c a s i o n s . 
J e r r y Gaddy 
t e s t i f i e d , 
and 
h i s 
t e s t i m o n y , 
w h i c h 
was 
u n d i s p u t e d , 
was 
t h a t 
an 
e l e c t r i c a l 
s h o r t c a n o c c u r 
a f t e r c o n s t r u c t i o n and t h a t i t i s 
p o s s i b l e f o r a g r o u n d 
t o come l o o s e a f t e r 
c o n s t r u c t i o n . 
The 
t r i a l 
c o u r t i n t h i s c a s e p r o p e r l y g r a n t e d Gaddy's m o t i o n 
f o r 
a 
j u d g m e n t 
as 
a 
m a t t e r 
o f 
l a w 
on 
R o b e r t s o n ' s 
w a n t o n n e s s 
c l a i m s . 
A f f i r m a t i v e D e f e n s e s 
o f C o n t r i b u t o r y N e g l i g e n c e 
and 
A s s u m p t i o n 
o f t h e R i s k 
^At 
t r i a l , 
Gaddy 
a s s e r t e d t h e 
a f f i r m a t i v e 
d e f e n s e s 
o f 
c o n t r i b u t o r y n e g l i g e n c e and a s s u m p t i o n 
o f t h e r i s k on t h e p a r t 
o f R o b e r t s o n . 
A t t h e c l o s e o f t h e t e s t i m o n y , R o b e r t s o n moved 
f o r a j u d g m e n t as a m a t t e r o f l a w as t o t h o s e two 
i s s u e s . 
The 
t r i a l 
c o u r t d e n i e d 
h i s m o t i o n . 
A f t e r 
t h e 
j u r y 
r e t u r n e d 
a 
v e r d i c t 
i n f a v o r o f Gaddy, R o b e r t s o n moved f o r a new 
t r i a l , 
11 
1081351 
a r g u i n g 
t h a t t h e r e was 
no e v i d e n c e t o w a r r a n t s u b m i s s i o n o f 
t h e two d e f e n s e s t o t h e 
j u r y . 
"'A 
[ j u d g m e n t as a m a t t e r o f l a w ] i s p r o p e r 
(1) 
where 
t h e 
n o n m o v i n g 
p a r t y 
has 
f a i l e d 
t o 
p r e s e n t 
s u b s t a n t i a l 
e v i d e n c e 
r e g a r d i n g 
some 
e l e m e n t 
e s s e n t i a l 
t o h e r 
c l a i m , 
o r 
(2) where t h e r e i s no 
d i s p u t e d i s s u e o f f a c t upon w h i c h r e a s o n a b l e p e r s o n s 
c o u l d d i f f e r . R u l e 5 0 ( a ) , A l a . R. C i v . P.' Teague v.  
Adams, 
638 
So. 
2d 
836 
( A l a . 1 
9 9 4 ) ; 
s e e 
J o h n 
R. 
 
C o w l e y 
& B r o s . , I n c . v. Brown, 569 So. 2d 375, 
376 
( A l a . 1 9 9 0 ) ; K o c h v. S t a t e Farm F i r e & C a s . Co., 
565 
So. 2d 226, 228 
( A l a . 1 9 9 0 ) ; Dobbs v. A l a b a m a Power  
Co., 
549 So. 2d 35, 36 
( A l a . 1 9 8 9 ) . 
' I n r e v i e w i n g a 
r u l i n g 
on a m o t i o n 
f o r a 
[ j u d g m e n t 
as a m a t t e r 
o f 
l a w ] , 
t h i s C o u r t v i e w s a l l t h e e v i d e n c e i n a 
l i g h t 
most f a v o r a b l e t o t h e nonmovant and e n t e r t a i n s 
s u c h 
r e a s o n a b l e e v i d e n t i a r y i n f e r e n c e s as t h e j u r y 
w o u l d 
be f r e e t o draw.' C a t o v. L o w d e r R e a l t y Co., 
630 
So. 
2d 378, 
381 
( A l a . 1 9 9 3 ) . We must d e t e r m i n e 
w h e t h e r 
t h e 
n o n m o v a n t - - d e f e n d a n t 
[ G a d d y ] - - p r e s e n t e d 
s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e s u p p o r t i n g e a c h e l e m e n t o f i t s 
a f f i r m a t i v e d e f e n s e . § 1 2 - 2 1 - 1 2 ( a ) , A l a . Code 
1975; 
K o c h v. S t a t e Farm F i r e 
& C a s u a l t y Co., 
565 
So. 
2d 
226 
( A l a . 1 9 9 0 ) . 
' [ S ] u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e i s e v i d e n c e 
o f s u c h w e i g h t and q u a l i t y t h a t f a i r - m i n d e d p e r s o n s 
i n t h e e x e r c i s e o f i m p a r t i a l j u d g m e n t c a n r e a s o n a b l y 
i n f e r 
t h e 
e x i s t e n c e 
o f 
t h e 
f a c t 
s o u g h t 
t o 
be 
p r o v e d . ' 
West 
v. 
F o u n d e r s 
L i f e 
A s s u r a n c e 
Co. 
o f 
 
F l o r i d a , 
547 So. 2d 870, 871 
( A l a . 1 9 8 9 ) . " 
S p e n c e v. S o u t h e r n P i n e E l e c . Coop., 643 So. 2d 970, 971 ( A l a . 
1 9 9 4 ) . 
We 
f i r s t a d d r e s s t h e a f f i r m a t i v e d e f e n s e o f a s s u m p t i o n o f 
t h e 
r i s k . 
D u r i n g t h e 
t r i a l , 
R o b e r t s o n 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t he 
was 
r e s p o n s i b l e 
f o r h i s own 
s a f e t y . 
He 
s t a t e d 
t h a t 
b e f o r e 
he 
e n t e r e d t h e c e i l i n g a r e a o f t h e d r i v e - i n room, he e x a m i n e d 
t h e 
12 
1081351 
a r e a where he w o u l d be w o r k i n g and he "saw t h a t 
t h e r e 
were 
m e t a l c l a d c a b l e s and c o n d u i t s 
t h a t 
[were] r i g h t i n f r o n t o f 
[ h i m ] . " 
He 
s t a t e d 
t h a t he d i d n o t s e e any o f t h e 
c o n d u i t 
" p u l l e d 
away" 
f r o m 
t h e 
j u n c t i o n 
b o x . 
S m i t h , 
h o w e v e r , 
t e s t i f i e d t h a t when he l o o k e d t h r o u g h t h e c e i l i n g 
t i l e , he saw 
t h a t 
t h e c o n d u i t 
was 
n o t 
a t t a c h e d 
t o t h e 
j u n c t i o n b o x , 
i n d i c a t i n g 
t h a t t h e c i r c u i t was n o t g r o u n d e d : 
"Q. 
You w e r e 
a c t u a l l y - - y o u 
a c t u a l l y were i n t h a t 
c e i l i n g 
f a i r l y 
c l o s e a f t e r t h e i n c i d e n t , 
c o r r e c t ? 
"A. 
Y e s , s i r , I d i d n ' t 
a c t u a l l y go t o t h e t o p o f 
t h e l a d d e r and i n s i d e t h e w a l l , b u t w i t h t h e c e i l i n g 
t i l e o u t you c o u l d 
p r e t t y much s e e e v e r y t h i n g 
t h a t 
was p r e t t y much 
t h e r e . 
f i 
"Q. 
You c o u l d s e e where t h e j u n c t i o n b o x was? 
"A. 
Y e s , s i r . 
"Q. ... You c o u l d s e e t h e c o n d u i t 
on t h e w a l l , t h e 
p i p e ? 
"A. 
Y e s , s i r . 
"A. 
F i r s t 
v i s i t , y e s , s i r . 
A f t e r t h e i n c i d e n t h a d 
t a k e n 
p l a c e , 
b e f o r e 
any c h a n g e s 
h a d b e e n 
made, 
b e f o r e 
a n y b o d y h a d b e e n on t h e s c e n e t o work i n 
t h e 
c e i l i n g , 
I d i d s e e ... f l e x 
c o n d u i t 
g o i n g f r o m t h e 
s w i t c h 
l o c a t i o n t o t h e j u n c t i o n 
b o x . 
The 
c l a d 
c o n d u i t 
i t s e l f , 
w h i c h i s f l e x i b l e and m e t a l , was n o t 
a t t h a t t i m e a t t a c h e d t o t h e 
b o x . 
13 
1081351 
"Q. 
And 
i t was 
n o t 
p r e s e n t a l l t h e 
way 
t o 
t h e 
j u n c t i o n b o x ? 
"A. 
T h a t i s c o r r e c t . 
I t a p p e a r e d i n l e n g t h t o be  
a b l e t o h a v e made i t t o t h e j u n c t i o n b o x , b u t i t was  
n o t a t t a c h e d . 
..." 
( E m p h a s i s 
added.) 
A s s u m p t i o n 
o f t h e r i s k 
a p p l i e s t o f a c t u a l s i t u a t i o n s i n 
w h i c h i t i s a l l e g e d t h a t t h e p l a i n t i f f f a i l e d t o e x e r c i s e 
due 
c a r e by p l a c i n g h i m s e l f 
o r h e r s e l f i n t o a d a n g e r o u s 
p o s i t i o n 
w i t h 
an 
a p p r e c i a t i o n 
o f 
t h e 
r i s k . 
H a r r i s 
v. 
Food 
E q u i p . 
 
S p e c i a l i s t , 
I n c . , 559 
So. 2d 1066, 
1068 
( A l a . 1 9 9 0 ) . 
"The 
a f f i r m a t i v e d e f e n s e o f a s s u m p t i o n o f t h e 
r i s k 
r e q u i r e s 
t h a t 
t h e d e f e n d a n t p r o v e 
(1) t h a t t h e p l a i n t i f f h a d k n o w l e d g e 
o f , 
and an 
a p p r e c i a t i o n 
o f , t h e d a n g e r 
t h e p l a i n t i f f 
f a c e d ; 
and 
(2) t h a t t h e p l a i n t i f f v o l u n t a r i l y c o n s e n t e d t o b e a r t h e 
r i s k 
p o s e d by t h a t d a n g e r . " 
Ex p a r t e P o t m e s i l , 785 So. 2d 340, 
343 
( A l a . 
2 0 0 0 ) . 
R o b e r t s o n 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t 
he 
d i d n o t 
see 
any 
d i s c o n n e c t e d 
c o n d u i t 
b e f o r e 
he r e c e i v e d t h e e l e c t r i c a l 
s h o c k . 
S h o r t l y 
a f t e r t h e a c c i d e n t , 
J e r r y Gaddy v i e w e d t h e a r e a 
and 
d i d 
n o t see any d i s c o n n e c t e d 
c o n d u i t . 
J e r r y Gaddy 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t 
i t was 
an 
u n s e e n 
s h o r t 
t h a t 
a c t u a l l y 
c a u s e d 
t h e 
e l e c t r i c a l s h o c k and t h a t he d i d n o t d i s c o v e r t h a t t h e p r i m a r y 
14 
1081351 
g r o u n d w i r e was m i s s i n g u n t i l he r e m o v e d t h e s w i t c h p l a t e . 
I n 
o t h e r w o r d s , 
t h e r e w o u l d have b e e n no 
way 
f o r R o b e r t s o n 
t o 
h a v e s e e n t h a t t h e p r i m a r y g r o u n d w i r e was 
d i s c o n n e c t e d when 
he 
l o o k e d a t t h e j u n c t i o n box 
t h r o u g h 
t h e 
c e i l i n g . 
A l t h o u g h 
S m i t h 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t a f t e r 
t h e a c c i d e n t he 
saw 
c o n d u i t 
t h a t 
was 
d i s c o n n e c t e d , 
t h e r e was 
no e v i d e n c e 
i n d i c a t i n g t h a t what 
S m i t h saw 
a f t e r t h e a c c i d e n t was what R o b e r t s o n 
saw b e f o r e 
t h e 
a c c i d e n t . 
A d d i t i o n a l l y , 
t h e c o n d u i t was 
a s e c o n d a r y 
g r o u n d , 
so 
e v e n 
i f we 
assume 
t h a t 
R o b e r t s o n 
saw 
t h e 
d i s c o n n e c t e d 
c o n d u i t , 
t h e r e 
was 
no 
way 
f o r R o b e r t s o n 
t o have 
s e e n 
t h e 
d i s c o n n e c t e d p r i m a r y g r o u n d w i r e . B a s e d on o u r r e v i e w o f 
t h e 
r e c o r d , we c o n c l u d e t h a t R o b e r t s o n 
d i d n o t v o l u n t a r i l y 
p r o c e e d 
w i t h k n o w l e d g e o f t h e d a n g e r p o s e d by t h e d i s c o n n e c t e d 
c o n d u i t 
t h a t 
s h o u l d h a v e g r o u n d e d t h e u n s e e n 
s h o r t 
i n t h e 
w i r e 
and 
p r e v e n t e d 
an 
e l e c t r i c a l 
s h o c k . 
A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
c o m m i t t e d 
r e v e r s i b l e 
e r r o r 
i n 
i n s t r u c t i n g 
t h e 
j u r y 
on 
t h e 
a f f i r m a t i v e d e f e n s e 
o f a s s u m p t i o n o f t h e r i s k . 
B e c a u s e o f o u r 
d i s p o s i t i o n 
on 
t h e 
i s s u e 
o f 
a s s u m p t i o n 
o f 
t h e 
r i s k , 
we 
p r e t e r m i t d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e i s s u e o f c o n t r i b u t o r y n e g l i g e n c e 
and 
t h e r e m a i n i n g 
i s s u e s r a i s e d by 
R o b e r t s o n . 
C o n c l u s i o n 
15 
1081351 
We a f f i r m t h e j u d g m e n t as a m a t t e r o f l a w e n t e r e d b y t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
w i t h 
r e g a r d 
t o R o b e r t s o n ' s 
w a n t o n n e s s 
c l a i m s . 
However, 
b e c a u s e 
we 
h o l d 
t h a t 
t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
e r r e d i n 
i n s t r u c t i n g t h e j u r y on t h e a f f i r m a t i v e d e f e n s e o f a s s u m p t i o n 
o f t h e r i s k , 
we must r e v e r s e 
t h e j u d g m e n t 
e n t e r e d 
on t h e 
j u r y ' s 
v e r d i c t and remand 
t h i s 
a c t i o n f o r a new 
t r i a l 
on 
R o b e r t s o n ' s 
n e g l i g e n c e 
c l a i m s . 
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; AND REMANDED. 
Cobb, C . J . , and L y o n s , 
W o o d a l l , 
S t u a r t , S m i t h , 
P a r k e r , 
M u r d o c k , and Shaw, J J . , c o n c u r . 
16