Opinion ID: 1655703
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Ultrahazardous Activity

Text: Mangrum argues that the aerial spraying of a poisonous herbicide in the vicinity of his corn crop was, as a matter of law, an ultrahazardous activity and that the trial court erred in granting appellees' motion for directed verdict dismissing his complaint. We disagree and affirm the trial court. This court has held that an activity is ultrahazardous if it necessarily involves a risk of serious harm to the person or chattels of others that cannot be eliminated by the exercise of the utmost care and is not a matter of common usage. Zero Wholesale Gas Company v. Stroud, 264 Ark. 27, 571 S.W.2d 74 (1978). In Chapman Chemical Company v. Taylor, this court applied the rule of absolute liability in cases involving damages caused by crop dusting with 2-4-D, and held: If one casts into the air a substance which he knows may do damage to others, and in some circumstances will certainly do so, principles of elementary justice, as well as the best public policy require that he know how far the substance will carry or be conveyed through the air and what damage it will do in the path of its journey, and if he releases such a substance either from ignorance of, or in indifference to the damage that may be done, the rule of strict liability should be applied. 215 Ark. 630, 643, 222 S.W.2d 820 (1949). There the court determined whether the case is a proper one for imposing absolute or strict liability is a question of law for the court. AMI 1108, Ultrahazardous Activities, adopted Chapman's rationale and acknowledged that there was no issue for the jury on the questions of Chapman's absolute liability, this being a matter of law for the trial court to decide. AMI 1108 provides: By using ______ (explosives, poisons, etc.), ______ (defendant) is liable for any [compensatory] damages sustained by ______ (plaintiff) which were proximately caused by the use of the ______. You need only decide what those [compensatory] damages are and what amount ______ (plaintiff) should recover. ______ (plaintiff) has the burden of proving the amount of those damages cause by ______'s (defendant) use of the ______. According to the Restatement of Torts, § 519: One who carries on an ultra hazardous activity is liable to another whose person, land, or chattels the actor should recognize as likely to be harmed by the unpreventable miscarriage of the activity for harm resulting thereto from that which makes the activity ultra hazardous, although the utmost care is exercised to prevent the harm. Finally, Restatement of Torts § 523 provides: The rule stated in § 519 does not apply where the person harmed by the unpreventable miscarriage of an ultrahazardous activity has reason to know of the risk which makes the activity ultrahazardous and (a) takes part in it, or (b) brings himself within the area which will be endangered by its miscarriage (i) without a privilege, or (ii) in the exercise of a privilege derived from the consent of the person carrying on the activity, or (iii) as a member of the public entitled to the services of a public utility carrying on the activity. Here, the trial court correctly held, as a matter of law, that the spraying of the widely used herbicide, Roundup Ultra, was not an ultrahazardous activity. There is simply an insufficient factual basis in this case to warrant such a drastic action on the part of this court. Roundup Ultra is a chemical that is commonly used in the farming community and is available for sale to the general public. According to the testimony of Ford Baldwin, the chemical can be controlled by the use of ordinary care as to the environmental factors which are present when it is applied. Since this court is not dealing with an ultrahazardous activity in and of itself, the aerial spraying of Roundup Ultra, strict liability does not apply and the trial court is affirmed.