Opinion ID: 852709
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Vaughns' Negligence Claims

Text: In order to recover on a common law negligence claim, the plaintiff must establish a duty on the part of the defendant to conform his conduct to a standard of care arising out of his relationship with the plaintiff, a failure on the part of the defendant to conform his conduct to the requisite standard of care, and an injury to the plaintiff that is proximately caused by the breach. See Franklin v. Benock, 722 N.E.2d 874, 878 (Ind.Ct.App. 2000), trans. denied. Absent a duty, there can be no breach, and therefore, no recovery for the plaintiff in negligence. Hopper v. Colonial Motel Prop., Inc., 762 N.E.2d 181, 188 (Ind.Ct.App.2002), trans. denied. The issue is whether either Daniels or Solar owed a duty to Vaughn, and if so, what that duty entailed.
Solar was the purchaser of the facility to be designed and furnished by Daniels and installed by Trimble. It is undisputed that Solar contracted with Daniels for the design and construction of the coal plant and Solar's only obligation was to fund the project. [11] The acts of negligence alleged are in the design and manufacture by Daniels, which was admittedly an independent contractor of Solar. The Vaughns assert that Solar is liable for Daniels's negligence under an exception to the general rule that a principal is not liable for the negligence of an independent contractor. We have previously held that: [T]he long-standing general rule has been that a principal is not liable for the negligence of an independent contractor. However, five exceptions have been recognized for more than half a century. The exceptions are: (1) where the contract requires the performance of intrinsically dangerous work; (2) where the principal is by law or contract charged with performing the specific duty; (3) where the act will create a nuisance; (4) where the act to be performed will probably cause injury to others unless due precaution is taken; and (5) where the act to be performed is illegal. Bagley v. Insight Commc'ns Co., 658 N.E.2d 584, 586 (Ind.1995) (internal citations omitted); see also PSI Energy, Inc. v. Roberts, 829 N.E.2d 943, 950 (Ind.2005). The Vaughns cite the second exception, contending that specific duties are imposed by law under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (FMSHA), 30 U.S.C. §§ 801 et seq. (2002). Specifically, the Vaughns maintain that under FMSHA regulations Solar and Daniels owed a duty to provide a railing around the coal sump. [12] The Vaughns are correct that Solar as owner and Daniels as contractor are both subject to FMSHA regulations. Bituminous Coal Operators' Ass'n v. Sec'y of Interior, 547 F.2d 240, 246-47 (4th Cir. 1977). The FMSHA authorizes the Secretary of Labor to inspect mining operations and impose civil penalties for FMSHA violations. 30 U.S.C. §§ 802, 813-14, 819-20. Bituminous expressly left open the question of allocation of liability for fines as between the owner and an independent contractor, but that case did not address civil tort liability. It does not support the Vaughns' contention that a FMSHA regulation imposes a state law duty for purposes of tort liability of the owner for negligence of an independent contractor. For these purposes, FMSHA regulations are analogous to OSHA regulations applicable to many workplaces. An OSHA violation does not in itself render a workplace owner liable in tort for the negligence of an independent contractor. See Ellis v. Chase Commc'ns, Inc., 63 F.3d 473, 478 (6th Cir.1995) (holding in a suit against the owner of premises where employee of independent contractor was killed that even had there been a violation of OSHA safety regulations, the owner must owe a duty independent of OSHA in order to create liability). None of the remaining exceptions to the rule that a principal is not liable for an independent contractor's negligence are applicable. Accordingly, the trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Solar on the negligence claim.
The Vaughns' remaining negligence claims are against Daniels, the designer of the coal sump and coal preparation plant. Specifically, the Vaughns allege: (1) Daniels negligently designed and manufactured the Cannelburg plant rendering the installation of the coal sump inherently dangerous, (2) Daniels designed and manufactured a defective coal sump constituting a latent danger in the use of the product, and (3) Daniels maintained the property in an unreasonably safe condition. Until 1995, the Products Liability Act did not generally displace products liability law except for strict liability claims. See former I.C. § 33-1-1.5-1 (the PLA governs all actions in which the theory of liability is strict liability in tort.). In 1995 that section of the PLA was amended to provide that it applied to all claims of defective products against a manufacturer by a user or consumer regardless of the theory of liability. I.C. § 34-20-1-1. As a result, the PLA now applies to all negligence claims brought against a manufacturer of a defective product by a user or consumer. The PLA is explicit that it does not govern other claims: This article shall not be construed to limit any other action from being brought against a seller of a product. I.C. § 34-20-1-2. For the reasons given in Part III, Vaughn is not a user or consumer and therefore the Vaughns' negligence claims are governed by conventional common law negligence doctrines, not by the PLA. The Vaughns first argue that Daniels assumed a duty for the design safety of the construction site. Whether a party has assumed a duty and the extent of that duty, if any, are questions for the trier of fact. Perry v. N. Ind. Pub. Serv. Co., 433 N.E.2d 44, 50 (Ind.Ct.App.1982), trans. denied. The Vaughns argue that Daniels's Health and Safety Policy establishes an issue of material fact relevant to assumption of duty because it states Handrail, mid-rail, and toe boards must be used on any scaffolding and it requires Daniels's employees to conduct daily, weekly, and periodic inspections. The Vaughns do not designate any evidence establishing that the Safety Policy applied to this project or that Daniels was operating under it in the construction of this plant. [13] The Vaughns also designated a number of daily field reports completed by Daniels's supervisors. These reports reference weather conditions, the number of employees, and issues pertaining to materials and progress on construction. There is no indication that Daniels's employees conducted safety inspections prior to completing the forms, and there are no notations relating to safety concerns. Daniels points to its contract with Trimble that explicitly imposes these duties on Trimble. In sum, the designated evidence failed to demonstrate that Daniels assumed a duty to supervise safety at the job site. The Vaughns next argue that Daniels owed a contractual duty to Vaughn. The parties agree that there was no written contract between Solar and Daniels apart from the Design, Procurement, and Construction Specification, which sets forth Daniels's proposal for the Cannelburg project. The Vaughns cite this document and MacCollum's opinion that Daniels failed to use reasonable care by failing to provide a construction management plant and/or process of plant assembly plan. The Vaughns argue that the terms and conditions of the arrangement between Solar and Daniels as they relate to the construction site and to Daniels's responsibilities are questions of fact for the jury to decide. We disagree. Any duties that Daniels had relating to safety arising from its implied contract with Solar were effectively transferred to Trimble in the written contract between Daniels and Trimble which provided that Trimble would comply with Daniels's safety policies and conduct weekly safety meetings, would follow all applicable public safety laws and would indemnify Solar and Daniels for losses arising from a failure to follow public safety laws. The Vaughns have designated nothing to raise an issue of fact to establish a contractual duty on the part of Daniels. The Vaughns also bring a negligent design claim against Daniels. Whether the law recognizes any obligation on the part of Daniels to conform its conduct to a certain standard for the benefit of Vaughn is a question of law. Webb v. Jarvis, 575 N.E.2d 992, 995 (Ind.1991). The relationship between Daniels and Vaughn was that of designer-seller of a product and an employee of the designer-seller's subcontractor who assembled and installed the product before delivery to the final purchaser. It was reasonably foreseeable that if Daniels did not use reasonable care to design a safe unassembled and uninstalled facility, those who handled it in the process of assembly and installation, including Vaughn, might be at risk of injury. There is no policy reason to immunize Daniels from liability to those who are injured as a result of negligent design. However, in addition to establishing the existence of a duty, in order to survive Daniels's motion for summary judgment, the Vaughns must also establish breach, causation and damages. The parties dispute whether Daniels's breached its duty and whether the alleged breach was the proximate cause of Vaughn's injuries. Because we find there are genuine issues of material fact on these issues, we conclude that the trial court erred in granting Daniels's motion for summary judgment on the Vaughns' negligent design claim. The trial court concluded that Vaughn misused the sump and that misuse proximately caused Vaughn's injuries. Daniels cites the affidavits of Trimble and Daniels's presidents in which the presidents state that the sump was not intended to be used as a construction platform. The Vaughns cite blueprints showing a ladder access into the sump and argue that these blueprints show that it was foreseeable that workers would be on the sump. Vaughn testified that he had worked on approximately twenty to twenty-five sumps and that the Daniels design was different in that there was no steel overhead from which supports could hold the pipe during installation. Vaughn also stated that the fine coal sump on the site had a handrail around the top. We agree with the Vaughns that these facts create an issue as to whether workers would be on the sump, whether Vaughn's manner of installing the pipe constituted misuse of the sump, and if so, whether that misuse was the proximate cause of Vaughn's injuries. Therefore, the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Daniels on the basis of misuse. The trial court also found summary judgment appropriate on the ground that Vaughn voluntarily incurred the risk of falling that came with not being properly tied off while working at heights. Incurred risk acts as a complete bar to liability with respect to negligence claims brought under the PLA. See I.C. § 34-20-6-3. But, as explained above, the Vaughns' negligence claim is not governed by the PLA and is subject to Indiana's Comparative Fault Act, Indiana Code sections 34-51-2-1 through XX-XX-X-XX. The relative contribution of Vaughn's fault, if any, and Daniels's negligent design, if any, are fact issues for trial. We therefore reverse the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Daniels on the Vaughns' negligent design claim.