Brooks v. Parkhill-Wade, Inc.

California Court of Appeal Jan 26, 1954 No. Civ. No. 19787Published

Before: Drapeau

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Holding. The court held that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur does not apply because the defendant lacked control over the propane installation for two years, and the evidence suggests the service station owner's negligence was a more probable cause of the explosion.

Issues

Whether the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applies to a defendant who installed equipment two years prior to an explosion but lacked subsequent control over it.

Disposition. affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“Balancing the probabilities, this court has come to the conclusion that the explosion was more likely the result of the negligence of the owner of the service station than of the defendant”

“res ipsa loquitur will not apply if it is equally probable that the negligence was that of someone other than the defendant.”

DRAPEAU, J. Plaintiff was employed in a large gasoline and automotive service station on San Fernando Road in Burbank, Los Angeles County. Gasoline and propane pumps were ranged in two rows, parallel with San Fernando Road. Back of the pumps was a building used for changing tires, and for doing other automotive service work. At the rear corner of the building was a wash and rest room for employees. This room had three windows looking out the east wall of the building.

On May 23, 1951, after completing his day’s work, plaintiff went to the wash room. The first thing he did was to fill his pipe with tobacco, strike a match and light the tobacco, and drop the match in the direction of the floor. That is all he remembers, for there was a tremendous explosion.

Plaintiff was seriously burned. At the time of the trial of this case he was still unable to do the work he had been doing before the explosion.

Inquiry followed, to ascertain the source and nature of the vagrant gas that was exploded by plaintiff’s match. The assistant chief of the Burbank Fire Department thought it might have been sewer gas, but that was ruled out later. The public utility gas company made an investigation to see whether it was their product, natural gas.

Tests of samples of air taken from the wash room by the gas company the day after the explosion indicated that there was no sewer gas in the room—at least at the time the samples were taken—and no natural gas. But there was present in the samples a small quantity of propane gas mixed with air.

Propane is an exceedingly dangerous, volatile and inflammable substance. Being heavier than air, it has a tendency to accumulate at the bottom of any enclosed place. Thus accumulated, propane is like a malignant fury, silently lying in wait to inflict bitter and unexpected calamity upon any creature present when it explodes.

Instead of making Snyder-Lyneh Company, owner of the service station, a party to this action, plaintiff seeks to recover damages for his injuries from defendant Parkhill-W ade, Inc. only. Plaintiff bases his cause of action upon the theory that Parkhill-W ade was negligent when it installed for SnyderLyneh a propane storage tank, with pipes to the vending pumps at the front of the service station, and in failing to warn Snyder-Lyneh of the dangerous nature of the installation.

The pipe line ran along the east wall of the building, about three feet away from the employees’ wash room. See[821]

Brooks v. Parkhill-Wade, Inc.

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