Court Opinion

ID: 9577520
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:35:44.424666+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:20:44.299619
License: Public Domain

*243Justice Martin
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the holding of the majority that the conduct of defendants in this case does not rise to the level of being willful, wanton, or reckless negligence.
Clearly, the intentional operation of the forklift tractor on a loading dock where other people were working, with knowledge that the vehicle did not have any brakes, constituted gross, willful, or wanton negligence. The forklift had a “No Brakes” sign affixed to it, and defendants Mosley and Whitaker had actual knowledge that the vehicle did not have brakes. The forklift was used to move heavy loads from place to place and to stack and remove heavy freight on the loading dock.
The belief by Mosley and Whitaker that the forklift could be stopped, even though it had no brakes, by disengaging the clutch and changing the gears to the opposite direction, is incredible at best. The majority accepts this testimony as gospel; at the most it would be a question for the jury to decide whether the vehicle could be so stopped and whether Mosley and Whitaker actually had such a belief. As the majority recognizes, the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff. Daughtry v. Turnage, 295 N.C. 543, 246 S.E. 2d 788 (1978). Reviewing the evidence accordingly, this “defense” was for the jury.
The operation of moving vehicles without proper means of controlling them is indeed a dangerous occupation. It is negligence per se to operate a motor vehicle on the public highway without proper brakes. Stephens v. Oil Co., 259 N.C. 456, 131 S.E. 2d 39 (1963). Consolidated Freightways, as employer of Mosley and Whitaker, had a nondelegable duty to provide them with safe machines with which to perform their work. Kientz v. Carlton, 245 N.C. 236, 96 S.E. 2d 14 (1957). The willful use of the unsafe forklift by Consolidated’s employees, resulting in serious injuries to plaintiff, was sufficient evidence, under the circumstances of this case, to carry the issue of willful, wanton, or reckless negligence to the jury. Surely, the conduct by defendants manifested a reckless disregard for the rights and safety of others and the evidence was sufficient for a jury determination of whether the defendants intentionally failed to carry out their lawful duties necessary to protect the safety of others and, particularly, the plaintiff. Pleasant v. Johnson, 312 N.C. 710, 325 S.E. 2d 244 (1985).
For these reasons, I cannot join the majority opinion.