Opinion ID: 1374482
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exceptional Statutes

Text: Some statutes create a duty or impose a standard of conduct; breach of the statute is equated with negligence. Ontiveros, 136 Ariz. at 510, 667 P.2d at 210; Orlando v. Northcutt, 103 Ariz. 298, 300, 441 P.2d 58, 60 (1968); Mercer v. Vinson, 85 Ariz. 280, 284, 336 P.2d 854, 857 (1959); Restatement § 285 comment b, § 286; see also W. PROSSER & W. KEETON, § 36. Arizona has long recognized that violation of such statutes is negligence per se. Brannigan, 136 Ariz. at 517, 667 P.2d at 217; Salt River Valley Water Users' Ass'n. v. Compton, 39 Ariz. 491, 496, 8 P.2d 249, 251 (1932); Young v. Campbell, 20 Ariz. 71, 75, 177 P. 19, 21 (1918). Included in the class of statutes that impose a standard of conduct of the kind which creates civil liability is a narrow subclass called exceptional statutes. Restatement § 483 comment c. The violation of an exceptional statute not only gives the injured party a private cause of action and establishes defendant's negligence per se, but, in addition, denies the defendant the affirmative defenses of contributory negligence and assumption of the risk. This is a form of absolute liability for breach of statutory duty. W. PROSSER & W. KEETON § 65, at 461-62; Restatement § 483. Assertion of the traditional defenses is precluded because permitting plaintiff's fault to be raised as a bar to his recovery would defeat the fundamental purpose of a statute specifically enacted to protect the plaintiff against his inability to protect himself. Id. In general, courts will bar these defenses only when they find a clear legislative purpose to impose absolute liability for statutory violation. W. PROSSER & W. KEETON § 65, at 461. Thus, an initial distinction must be drawn between statutes intended for the protection of the general public and those exceptional in the sense that they were intended to protect a particular class of plaintiffs against their own acts. The former are unlikely to qualify as exceptional statutes. Compare Dart v. Pure Oil Co., 223 Minn. 526, 27 N.W.2d 555 (1947) (statute on handling of volatile oils is for protection of public, not special class) with Zerby v. Warren, 297 Minn. 134, 210 N.W.2d 58 (1973) (statute prohibiting sale of glue to minors is an exceptional statute). See generally Prosser, Contributory Negligence as Defense to Violation of Statute, 32 MINN.L.REV. 105 (1948). Thus, general safety statutes merely establish a duty of ordinary care for the protection of the public against an unreasonable risk; the plaintiff's own negligent conduct may bar his recovery, just as with a breach of a common law duty. W. PROSSER & W. KEETON § 65, at 461. Statutes intended to protect people from the consequences of their own conduct primarily are those applicable to specific groups deemed incapable of protecting themselves, Restatement § 483 comment c, such as the mentally deficient and children. Children, for instance, will not be barred from recovery by their own conduct if their injury was the result of a violation of a statute expressly aimed at protecting them from a particular harm. Child labor laws are a typical example of statutes intended to place all responsibility on the employer. Prosser, supra, 32 MINN.L.REV., at 119. See also Tamiami Gun Shop v. Klein, 116 So.2d 421 (Fla. 1959) (statute prohibiting firearm sales to minors). But see Collier v. Stamatis, 63 Ariz. 285, 162 P.2d 125 (1945) (parent of minor who purchased liquor not protected). In Tamiami, defendant sold a rifle to the 16-year-old plaintiff, who represented himself as over 18. Plaintiff was injured when the car in which he was riding went over a bump and the gun discharged. The court held that a statute prohibiting sales of arms to minors was intended to protect the minor from the carelessness to be expected of children and precluded the defenses of contributory negligence and assumption of the risk. 116 So.2d at 423; see also Morris v. Farley Enterprises, Inc., 661 P.2d 167 (Alaska 1983) (complicity of a minor who is a party to an illegal liquor transaction does not preclude his action against the liquor seller). However, merely because a child was injured as a result of a statutory violation is insufficient to bar the defenses. In Stuchbery v. Harper, 87 Idaho 12, 390 P.2d 303 (1964), a 17-year-old girl was killed in a boating accident which resulted from the boat operator's violation of a general safety statute. Nevertheless, the minor's action was barred because the statute was for the protection of the general public, not just children. Certain classes of adults are also deemed unable to protect themselves under certain circumstances. Examples include inherently hazardous jobs, such as construction or mining, over which the regulated person, usually an employer, has control. Restatement § 483. The policy served is protection of those exposed to a dangerous job or location but who are economically or otherwise unable to guard themselves against the hazards created by the statutory violations of their employers or supervisors. [5] For example, employees in a factory may not be able to provide their own fire protection. Statutes of this type are deemed to express a legislative intent to place the entire responsibility for such harms on the defendant.