Court Opinion

ID: 9570034
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:19:33.827288+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:04:43.601897
License: Public Domain

HOWE, Justice
(concurring).
I reluctantly concur, recognizing that the majority opinion in Barson v. E.R. Squibb & Sons, Inc., 682 P.2d 832 (Utah 1984), to which opinion I dissented, announced the rule that a general verdict will be sustained if any one of the theories or defenses advanced by the prevailing party and on which the jury could have relied in finding for the prevailing party was not infected with error. In the instant case, it is impossible for us as a reviewing court to know (1) whether the jury returned a verdict in favor of Dalton because they found that he did not enter into a contract with Cambelt to construct the platform, but instead had only agreed to provide Cambelt with the crew, or (2) whether the jury found in favor of Dalton because even though he had entered into a contract with Cambelt, he had no liability for the collapse of the platform because it fell due, in whole or part, to some fault on the part of Cambelt. The trial court admitted evidence of contributory negligence by Cambelt over its objection that contributory negligence was not a *1243defense to its action based upon breach of warranty. After having admitted that evidence, the trial court refused to give to the jury any instructions on the law in this state on contributory negligence and comparative negligence, even though the defendant submitted proposed instructions on that subject. Both the admission of such evidence and the refusal to give such instructions are Cambelt’s major assignments of error on this appeal.
We now refuse to consider the propriety of the trial court’s action, indulging in the presumption that the general verdict was reached by the jury on the ground that there was no construction contract between the parties, a defense to which the claimed errors do not pertain. As expressed in my dissenting opinion in Barson v. Squibb, supra, I would not follow such practice in our appellate review for the reasons discussed and based upon the authority cited therein.
For what little consolation it may be to Cambelt, if the jury strictly followed the instructions given them, any contributory negligence or fault of Cambelt should not have influenced their verdict. The instructions made it clear that if they found that Cambelt delivered plans and specifications to Dalton which were part of the agreement between them, and Dalton failed to follow them and thereby constructed a faulty and defective platform, they should return a verdict in favor of Cambelt. Contributory negligence or fault on the part of Cambelt was not mentioned as a factor they should consider.