Opinion ID: 1318434
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Gross Negligence of Deans

Text: It is interesting to contrast how counsel for Burton critiqued the potential negligence of Deans on final argument, to the present appellate submission. The critique originally, after the trial evidence had concluded:    I think too, that the involvement of Mr. Deans and Mr. Pierce is quite small, and I have to admit that in the case against Mr. Deans there was little evidence that he knew the regulator was on the well, contrasts with the statement in the brief:    plaintiff was denied the opportunity of a jury determination on an obviously conflicting set of facts upon which reasonable men could surely differ. First and best stated, the trial court listened to opening statements and was afforded the panorama of trial presentation. Having earlier denied a motion for summary judgment, the court was certainly aware of the criteria and facts for later decision. There was not only little evidence, there was actually no evidence that Deans knew anything about the hookup and its characteristics or components, all of which had been determined, arranged, approved, installed, and supervised by Burton. The basis of contention about the gross negligence is that Deans, as the general superintendent, should have warned Burton about high gas pressure at the well-site, which facts were determinable by casual examination of a pressure gauge which was, incidentally, the method of the determination by Pierce. Deans was not the operating official  that status belonged to Burton. Deans was the office supervisor. Likewise, there was no evidence that Deans was informed by anyone about the January warning given Burton by Hood that the Fisher Controls regulator was improper for the high pressure existent in the system. Simplistically stated, the issue is whether there is gross negligence in the failure to tell an expert how to do his job, as distinguishable from the current decision of this court involving the issue of ordinary negligence. Jones v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., Wyo., 718 P.2d 890 (1986). That decision might accommodate ordinary-negligence questions, but certainly did not encompass any possibility of gross negligence. In our opinion, the absence of evidence of Deans' knowledge of the characteristics of the Burton designed facility is determinative of the issue of Deans' gross negligence to Burton. Sequentially there is no trial evidence of any discussion between Deans and Burton about Hay No. 3 or the methanol pump between the time of the Denver office reconnection directive and the time of the accident. The master is not, however, liable for a failure to furnish a safe place to work if the complaint centers upon a danger which the employer does not know of and concerning which he is not chargeable with knowledge, or which arises in the progress of the work and constitutes part of its details and risks. Mellor v. Ten Sleep Cattle Company, Wyo., 550 P.2d 500, 504 (1976). Some weight should surely be afforded in assuming that final argument does not absolutely control jury decision, that if there had been a reasonable basis for the jury to have determined that Deans was guilty of gross negligence they would have at least determined that he was guilty of ordinary negligence. The curative effect of a directed verdict by confirmatory jury verdict cannot realistically be ignored. Buckeye Powder Co. v. DuPont de Nemours Powder Co., 248 U.S. 55, 39 S.Ct. 38, 63 L.Ed. 123 (1918); DeJulio v. Foster, supra; Crown Cork & Seal Co., Inc. v. Admiral Beverage Corp., Wyo., 638 P.2d 1272 (1982); ABC Builders, Inc. v. Phillips, Wyo., 632 P.2d 925 (1981); Palmeno v. Cashen, Wyo., 627 P.2d 163 (1981). See also Whitt v. Farley, Ky., 275 S.W.2d 906, 50 A.L.R.2d 990 (1955). We conclude that the trial court properly exercised his discretion. If the jury had leaped over its no-negligence finding to hold gross negligence existent, that result could not have been sustained on this record. Nehring v. Russell, Wyo., 582 P.2d 67 (1978); Moore v. Kondziela, Wyo., 405 P.2d 788 (1965); Altergott v. Story, Wyo., 388 P.2d 196 (1964).