MacLachlan v. Lutz

DRAPER, P. J. Plaintiff lessors sought recovery from defendant lessees for extensive fire damage to the leased premises. Judgment on jury verdict was for defendants, and plaintiffs appeal. Both original plaintiffs have died, and their personal representatives have been substituted.

Defendant lessees operated an automobile sales agency and garage on the leased premises. Occasionally, an automobile purchaser required application of underseal to his newly purchased car, and lessees did this work. A spray gun, eleetri[758]cally operated, was used to apply a highly inflammable substance. At the time of the fire, defendants’ employee Jones was undersealing a ear which had been raised on a hoist rack. As Jones neared completion of the job, he adjusted the hoist slightly to get a better look at the area beneath the car. “I backed up against the wall . . . And that’s when all the commotion started.” He felt a shock, dropped the gun, the compound ignited, the car burned, and the building was badly damaged as the fire spread. There is evidence that a fuse box wás located on the wall which Jones said he backed against. The fire inspector’s report, introduced in evidence, quotes Jones as saying that his spray nozzle hit an electrical switch box conduit or double electrical outlet. ’ ’

The Palo Alto fire code required that spraying of inflammable liquids be conducted only in a spray booth the walls of which would resist a fire for one hour, and that any electrical equipment used in the booth be grounded. It also required a permit for spraying. The Electrical Code made comparable requirements, and also prohibited fuse boxes in such a booth. These requirements were not met here. The lease required defendant lessees to comply with all regulations of governmental bodies affecting the use of the premises. It also prohibited alteration of the premises by lessees without written consent of lessors.

The fire and electrical inspectors of the city concluded that the fire was caused by a spark of static electricity. The former also concluded that the fire was preventable, its spread having resulted from the absence of a booth with one hour fire wall. This inspector had made frequent inspections of the garage, and knew of the undersealing operations. He had never suggested installation of a spray booth, because the operation was but sporadic.

There is evidence that the lessees sought permission to construct a spray booth, and that lessor MacLachlan refused it. There is also testimony that lessor Bleibler’s son acted as her agent in matters concerning the building, that he inspected the building often, was aware of the undersealing operations, and consented to them, knowing that the substance used was inflammable. He had owned and operated an iron works for some 20 years, and was also a teacher of shop in a high school.