Court Opinion

ID: 9767076
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 05:08:31.197102+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:28.208424
License: Public Domain

MILLIKEN, Judge
(dissenting).
I think enough uncertainty can be conjured up here as to what a reasonable man would do in the circumstances of this case as to require submission of the issue to a jury, and that the circumstances in which Goetz acted were not calculated to alert him so forcefully to the dangers at hand as to render his conduct negligent as a matter of law. When we view the evidence in the light most favorable to Goetz, his freedom from contributory fault appears possible — possibly probable — a jury question. Let us view the evidence that way for a moment.
There is no evidence that Goetz actually saw the power line — but let us assume that he is charged with the responsibility for having seen it. What would he have seen? The evidence reflects that the lines are slightly smaller than an ordinary house service electric line; their darkened color, admitted in evidence, readily presented the appearance that the lines were insulated. While it is true that it is not practicable to insulate high voltage lines, it is both practicable and usual that normal service lines are insulated. The simple truth is that Goetz (or the ubiquitous ordinary man exercising the care usual in such circumstance) could very well have believed that these lines were nothing more than telephone lines, telegraph lines, or innocent, insulated house service electric lines. All of which is to point up the fact that these lines presented an innocent, innocuous appearance — not an appearance of deadliness or extreme hazard. I think it is obvious that an ordinarily prudent person will take for granted, uncritically, those surroundings and circumstances which do not pre*715sent to him an obvious danger. By way of illustration — Goetz would certainly have noticed and acted accordingly if he had seen or heard a tiger on that pole — he may have dismissed a squirrel as inconsequential. I like to believe that I am a reasonable man, and it disturbs me that the majority of my colleagues conclude as a matter of law that reasonable men cannot differ on the legal consequences of a factual situation like this.
It seems to me that the very facts which militate against holding Goetz contribu-torily negligent as a matter of law create an issue for the jury as to the company’s negligence. The company is charged with a very high degree of care because of the dangerous propensities of electricity — particularly high voltage electricity transmitted through uninsulated wires. The company knew — or is clearly charged with knowledge — that the high voltage line was in dangerous proximity to the antenna and it knew, or ought to have foreseen, that an occupant of the Goetz property would have occasions to mount the antenna tower to service the antenna. In other words, there was foreseeability as to the company that this sort of situation would arise. Moreover, the company knew that copper wires do darken and that they do give the appearance of ordinary insulated lines.
Without any thought of a comparative negligence theory, it is, I think, appropriate to examine the relative opportunities of these parties. For the company, it would have required very little to make the danger obvious. A very simple procedure (and quite normal in my observation) would have been to place conspicuous danger or high voltage signs somewhere near normal eye level. Another would have been to shield these wires at their dangerous proximity to the aerial area. More devious means would include the removal of the line to a less dangerous spot or the raising of the line sufficiently above the aerial.
For these and other reasons, I am disappointed that my colleagues have affirmed a directed judgment ignoring all of these factors. In my view, this plaintiff was not nearly so guilty of contributory negligence as was Dunn in the recent case of Dunn v. Jackson Purchase Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation, Ky., 374 S.W.2d 190 (1963), where we reversed a directed judgment for the company because we thought a jury question was presented.
I am pleased that another reasonable man, Chief Justice MOREMEN, joins me in this dissent.