Opinion ID: 1389782
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Construction Contractors' Duty

Text: The Greens next allege that the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury that Bannock and Western had a primary, non-delegable duty to maintain U.S. Highway 30 in a safe condition for travelers during the entire construction period. The trial court instructed the jury, in Instruction No. 3, that the construction companies had a general duty to use ordinary care under all the facts and circumstances of the case. While the contract between the State and the companies might augment that duty, the court instructed, the provisions of the contract could not set forth a standard of care different from the duty to use ordinary care. The court further instructed the jury, in Instruction No. 12, that because a public works contractor is required to follow the plans and specifications submitted by the State, the contractor is not liable to third persons for damages or injuries subsequently suffered by reason of the condition of work where the contractor performed the work in strict accordance with those plans and specifications. The Greens contend that Instruction No. 12 is an incorrect statement of Idaho law and that the two instructions, taken together, created an insoluble conflict mandating a reversal of the jury verdict of no negligence on the part of Bannock and Western. Contrary to the Greens' contention, Instruction No. 12 is a correct statement of Idaho law. As this Court has stated on several occasions, the rule in Idaho is that where a public works contractor has performed its work in accordance with the plans and specifications provided by the state, the contractor is not liable for any damages resulting therefrom. Elce v. State, 110 Idaho 361, 363, 716 P.2d 505, 507, (1986); Black v. Peter Kiewit Sons Co., 94 Idaho 755, 757, 497 P.2d 1056, 1058 (1972). A contractor is required to follow the plans and specifications and when he does so, he cannot be held to guarantee that the work performed as required by his contract will be free from defects, or withstand the action of the elements, or that the completed job will accomplish the purpose intended. He is only responsible for improper workmanship or other faults, or defects resulting from his failure to perform. Black, supra, quoting Puget Sound Nat'l Bank v. C.B. Lauch Constr. Co., 73 Idaho 68, 77, 245 P.2d 800, 805 (1952). The trial court correctly instructed the jury of the general rule that a highway contractor has a duty to use ordinary care in the performance of the contract. See Pittman v. Sather, 68 Idaho 29, 38, 188 P.2d 600, 609 (1947). It also correctly instructed the jury of the more specific rule, cited above, that a public works contractor, who has performed its work in accordance with the State's plans and specifications, is not liable for any damages resulting therefrom. That instruction was appropriate because the facts of this case reveal that the State of Idaho had designed and staked the detour in question. Bannock contracted with the State to provide the subgrade for the new highway. Its only obligation in regard to the detour was to grade it. The evidence at trial established that Bannock had finished its work on the segment of the roadway where the detour was located, and that the State had accepted that work approximately one month prior to the accident. Allied was hired to pave the detour, and Western was responsible for obliterating it after the new highway was completed. The detour was already in existence when Western began its work on the portion of the highway where the detour was situated. Because the evidence established that Bannock's work on the detour was completed and accepted prior to the accident, Bannock was entitled to an instruction that it was not liable for any damage resulting from work it performed in strict accordance with the plans and specifications provided by the State. Accordingly, we hold that the trial court did not err in so instructing the jury.