Opinion ID: 2623243
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: ORDER Plaintiff's Motion for Reconsideration

Text: The motion for reconsideration filed by Clayton Petranovich is denied. This court has not overlooked any material facts or legal principles here. Although Petranovich argues that this court has overlooked or misconstrued the effect of the National Electrical Safety Code, that is not so. Before issuing its summary judgment order, this court reviewed the NESC as a whole, as well as the particular sections cited by Petranovich, and found that it has no legal effect here. The NESC does not have the force of law; it is a set of industrial standards that are intended to serve as guidelines for parties who work on electric power lines and communication lines. These guidelines have not been adopted as law in Alaska, thus they do not impose any legally binding obligation on MEA. Moreover, the NESC does not impose any non-delegable obligations on utilities as such; the code refers generically to anyone who works on or has control of electrical power lines and communication lines-this includes authorized contractors as well as utilities and other entities. [1] In his motion for reconsideration, Petranovich argues that MEA personnel actually exercised on-site safety control as a factual matter. This argument directly contradicts the position he took prior to summary judgment, where he insisted that MEA never inspected the Cache Creek project to ensure that the Vista crew was abiding by the proper safety procedures or regulations. [2] Nevertheless, this court examined the issue of on-site inspections, and found that there is no evidence that MEA exercised any control, through on-site inspections or otherwise, that would materially differ from MEA's normal right to inspect the progress of the work. MEA did not assume a duty to ensure Petranovich's safety. Although Petranovich states that the court's decision does not appear to address the significance of MEA's violation of switching and clearance procedures, this issue was addressed by the court, at page 11 of its order. Other arguments raised by Petranovich that were not raised prior to summary judgment are not properly presented here. For the reasons cited above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the Plaintiff's Motion for Reconsideration is DENIED. Dated at Anchorage, Alaska, this 12th day of August, 1999. /s/ Rene J. Gonzalez RENE J. GONZALEZ, Superior Court Judge