Opinion ID: 5973
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the jury's apportionment of fault

Text: 15 Although the preceding discussion embodies an assumption that Texas Eastern's negligence was appropriately apportioned by the jury, the assumption bears further analysis. Taylor contended that Texas Eastern must share in the attribution of negligence that caused Prestenbach's accident based on five theories: (1) failure to follow safe operating procedures; (2) overworking the crew, in particular, Wayne Prestenbach; (3) failure to maintain adequate plant drawings; (4) failure to remedy known safety problems; and (5) failure properly to supervise Prestenbach. The Prestenbachs and Texas Eastern vigorously disputed the evidence of such negligence, but the jury allocated 75% negligence against Texas Eastern. The question now is whether there was adequate evidence in the record to support this allocation. 16 We defer heavily, of course to the wisdom of the jury verdict. Under this standard, when all the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, this court may only reverse if the evidence points so strongly and overwhelmingly in favor of one party that the court believes that reasonable men could not arrive at any contrary conclusion. Boeing v. Shipman, 411 F.2d 365, 374 (5th Cir.1969) (en banc). At most, two of Taylor's negligence theories were inadequately supported by the evidence. Witnesses differed on whether Texas Eastern maintained accurate electrical drawings at the Pointe-Au-Chein plant, but the accuracy of these drawings was not connected to Prestenbach's accident. He never looked at the drawings before attempting to ground the K-2 capacitor. Additionally, Taylor's contention that Texas Eastern failed to remedy known safety problems suffers from its vagueness. What these safety problems were was not elaborated upon during the trial. 17 Taylor's other three theories, however, reflect genuine factual disputes. 2 Although Prestenbach denied being overworked during the course of the project, he had been working 12 hours a day, seven days a week and took only a half day off just before the accident. The jury could have decided he became careless through fatigue. Also, Texas Eastern had no rule requiring its workers to wear cotton clothing around electrical equipment. This rule, related to adequate safety procedures, would not have prevented Prestenbach's accident but it could have lessened his injuries considerably. The manmade fiber shirt he was wearing melted on his skin and on the hands of Dick Armstrong, who tried to assist him after the blast. Finally, Prestenbach's supervisor Dick Armstrong helped both to make Prestenbach's case against Taylor and to lose it by testifying that he had heard the instruction to Prestenbach to ground the K-2 capacitor. The evidence strongly suggested, despite his denials, that Armstrong may have known there was no K-2 capacitor. In that case, the jury could have concluded that Armstrong had the power and duty to prevent Prestenbach from even attempting to engage in the fateful maneuver. Other possible sources of inadequate supervision of Prestenbach exist in the evidence. This court cannot plumb the depths of the jury's understanding of the facts, but we are unable to say that a rational jury could not have found Texas Eastern 75% negligent.