Dwyer v. Lanan & Snow Lumber Co.

PEEK, J.

Defendant Charles W. Lannin, sued as Doe Lanan, alone appeals from a judgment in favor of plaintiff

[839]

Dwyer and plaintiff in intervention Argonaut Insurance Exchange in an action for personal injuries.

Plaintiff alleged he was seriously injured when defendants negligently and carelessly permitted a steel cable to fall across a county road in Mendocino County, with the result that the truck he was operating collided with the cable. Lannin and Snow Company, sued as Lanan and Snow Lumber Company, answered denying generally plaintiff’s allegation and affirmatively alleging that the injuries were the result of plaintiff’s contributory negligence. Lannin, by separate defense, alleged that he was merely an employee of the lumber company and hence was neither personally responsible nor liable for plaintiff’s alleged injuries. On the issues so joined the cause proceeded to trial before the court sitting without a jury and resulted in the judgment previously mentioned.

The record shows that at the time of the accident, the company was the sublessee of certain land on which was located an operating sawmill owned by the defendant Snow. He likewise was the owner and in possession of the land immediately across the county road from the sawmill. Lannin and one Sullivan had hired Snow as manager of the mill operation. These three were the actual operators of the mill and its business. In connection with the operation of the mill there was the usual highline which in this ease was attached to a backline, one end of which extended across the road and was secured to a tree located on the Snow property. The other end was secured to a redwood stump on the leased premises. Snow knew the location and condition of the back-line and the possibility that it might fall as it had previously, but he took no action to remedy the situation. However, he did inform Lannin, who was the acting president of the company, of the condition of the line, but he likewise failed to take any precaution. The block by which the line was attached to the tree was old, having been purchased secondhand and had not been inspected since its purchase. Furthermore, there was no safety factor to prevent the cable from falling on the road in case of accident. On the date of the accident, plaintiff was driving his logging truck along said road. As he approached the point where the backline crossed the same, one of the blocks holding the line broke, allowing the cable to fall across the hood of his truck in such a fashion that he was pinned in the driver’s cab and suffered serious injuries. Following the accident, the line was changed so that it did not cross the road.