Opinion ID: 416485
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Matthews' Claim Against Ashland

Text: 15 Construing the disputed facts most favorably to Matthews for purposes of summary judgment, we cannot say that Ashland did not as a matter of law create an unreasonable risk of injury to him by placing its containers to be filled by him adjacent to its water cooler that would emit sparks when the motor clicked on and thus creating a foreseeable hazard of gas explosion injuring Matthews while, as expected, he filled the container with flammable gas. 16 The magnitude of the risk thus created is not clearly outweighed by utility factors, and the injury received is closely associated with the risk thus created. Whether the defendant Ashland knew or should have known that its conduct created such risk, and whether the risk so created was unreasonable under the particularized facts before us, are issues that cannot, in our opinion, be decided as a matter of law but must be relegated to the trier of fact. As we recently stated in Owen v. Kerr-McGee Corporation, 698 F.2d 236, 239 (5th Cir.1983), in affirming the defendant's denial of a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict in favor of a plaintiff injured by the defendant's buried gas pipeline: 17 Under Louisiana law, the owner and operator of a facility must exercise reasonable care for the safety of persons on or around his property. Walker v. Union Oil Mill, Inc., 369 So.2d 1043, 1047 (La.1979); Dyson v. Gulf Modular Corp., 338 So.2d 1385, 1390-91 (La.1976); Williams v. City of Alexandria, 376 So.2d 367, 370 (La.App.1979). In determining a particular defendants' duty, consideration should be given to the nature of the facility and the dangers presented by it. Walker, supra [369 So.2d] at 1047; Shelton v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 334 So.2d 406, 410 (La.1976). Whether or not the defendant conformed to the standard of care that would be exercised by a reasonable person in his position is a factual question. Lacombe v. Greathouse, 407 So.2d 1346, 1349 (La.App.1981). 18 (Emphasis added.)