Court Opinion

ID: 9616313
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 04:45:33.219692+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:03:57.218581
License: Public Domain

Fromme, J.,
dissenting. Propane gas is a product with dangerous characteristics. The dangerous nature of this product is not that it has an odorant mixed with it. Industry standards require that odor-*641ant be mixed with the gas in order that the consumer may be warned, find the leak and repair the gas fine. It is a warning device utilized by suppliers of this dangerous product so that a consumer may be warned. The suppliers properly odorized the gas in this case. Here the leak which resulted in the tragedy occurred in lines under the exclusive control of the plaintiffs. Neither the supplier nor the distributor had any right of access to the lines in which the leak occurred.
Under the agreed facts the warning device, odorant, was present in the gas and the plaintiffs noticed the odor a week before the explosion. Subsequent inspection established that the propane gas which remained in the tank on the premises contained three times the minimum amount of odorant per gallon that is required by agency regulations.
The record on appeal clearly reflects that the plaintiffs had used butane and propane gas on their premises for over thirty years. The 'dangerous characteristics of butane and propane gas are well known to the general public in a community which has used this type of energy. The plaintiffs were not new to this community and they were not using this fuel for the first time. They knew a leak might occur and a fire or explosion might result. They had experienced a leak which resulted in a fire in their basement in 1956. They knew of the age and location of the old line to their brooder house. They admitted having smelled the odor of gas when their supply tank was filled. They had replaced a leaky supply tank sometime after their fire in 1956. The husband and wife had noticed the offensive odor in the cellar on this occasion and had discussed it before the explosion occurred, but dismissed it as coming from dead mice. No attempt was made by them to locate the source of the odor.
The duty of a distributor of propane gas to a consumer is to warn of the dangerous characteristics of the product. That warning is not required where, as here, the consumer had used the product for over thirty years, knew of the dangers and had experienced these dangers.
The duty being placed on the distributor in this case is unrealistic and results in extending the duty almost to a point of absolute liability. The plaintiffs had experienced the odor from both their previous and present experience. They knew what the odor smelled like yet this court says it is unable to say conclusively that the *642Smiths “. . . were sufficiently aware of the characteristics of propane so as to excuse Hittle [the distributor] from its duty to warn them, . . .” The characteristic referred to by this court is not that leaks may occur in old lines, or that a fire or explosion may result or that the gas contains an odorant offensive to the smell. They already knew these things.
What then is this court saying? As I read the opinion the court is saying the distributor must also warn the consumers of the possibility of their own human errors, that they may mistake the odor-ant which comes from a gas leak for the odor of dead mice. If that be true the court is placing an impossible burden on every distributor. In the HendHx case, cited in the majority opinion, the leaking gas smelled like rotten eggs. To me it smells like crude oil with a high sulfur content. In any event it is offensive and any consumer who has used gas for thirty years and experienced the smell knows what it smells like to him. If a distributor must advise the consumer of what it may smell like to the consumer it is an impossible burden. The next consumer who fails to associate the offensive odor with leaking gas may, under the present decision of the court, think it smells like rotten cabbage, or an open sewer. Any warning by the distributor that the odor is offensive and may smell like rotten eggs, dead mice or rotten cabbage will be an insufficient warning under the present decision.
The duty to warn of the dangerous characteristics of a product sold and delivered in bulk such as propane gas does not require the consumer to be advised of the possibility of his own human errors and propensities.
Accordingly I would affirm as to all defendants.
Schroeder, J., joins in the foregoing dissent.