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Pinter v. American Family Mutual Ins. Co.6/30/2000
f proportion to the culpability of the negligent tort-feasor,' or in retrospect it appears too highly extraordinary that the negligence should have brought about the harm, or because allowance of recovery would place too unreasonable a burden upon users of the highway, or be too likely to open the way to fraudulent claims, or would 'enter a field that has no sensible or just stopping point.'"
Id. (quoting Colla v. Mandella, 1 Wis. 2d 594, 599, 85 N.W.2d 345 (1957)). Hass concluded that these public policy considerations precluded a firefighter's negligence action for injuries sustained while fighting a fire. Hass, 48 Wis. 2d at 322-23.
. The firefighter in Hass was injured in a fire that was caused by a railroad company's negligence. Id. at 326. The Hass court acknowledged that starting a fire under the alleged circumstances was negligent, and that such negligence was a "substantial factor" in causing the plaintiff's injuries. Id. at 326.
. Nonetheless, the court barred recovery. The court observed that nearly all fires are caused by negligence. Id. at 327. The court therefore determined that requiring a person who negligently starts a fire to pay damages to a firefighter would place too great a burden on owners and occupiers of real estate . Id. In addition, liability would "'enter a field that has no sensible or just stopping point.'" Id. The court held that because of these public policy considerations, "one who negligently starts a fire is not liable for that negligence when it causes injury to a firefighter who comes to extinguish the blaze." Id.
. Pinter argues that the rule in Hass does not apply to his case because Hass only bars recovery for negligence in "starting a fire and failing to curtail its spread." See id. Pinter emphasizes that all of this court's subsequent cases examining Hass have distinguished Hass and have permitted recovery. Pinter urges this court to hold that Hass is limited to its literal terms.
. Pinter is correct in his assertion that thus far Hass has not been extended beyond its own facts.
. The first case that re-examined the rule in Hass was Clark v. Corby, 75 Wis. 2d 292, 249 N.W.2d 567 (1977). Clark involved a fire that started in a residence when the owner's son drained cans of gasoline into a basement sewer. Id. at 293. The homeowners had built a bedroom in the basement without obtaining a building permit, and the bedroom did not conform to applicable housing codes. Id. at 294. The basement contained various particularly flammable items, such as carpeting, pillows, paneling, tile, bedding, and paint thinner, the combination of which caused a particularly hot fire with thick black smoke. Id. A firefighter who was injured while attempting to fight the fire sued on three grounds: (1) negligence in starting a fire, (2) negligence in failing to warn about the special, hidden hazards in the basement, and (3) negligence in violating the housing code. Id. at 295.
. This court held that the firefighter's first cause of action, based on negligent starting of the fire, was barred by Hass. Id. at 296. However, the cause of action based on negligent failure to warn about hidden, special dangers could proceed to trial. Id. at 298. In addition, the cause of action based on violation of a housing ordinance could proceed, provided that the plaintiff was able to establish that the ordinance was enacted to protect a firefighter in the performance of his or her duties. Id. at 299-300.
. Thus, although the court in Clark affirmed the basic public policy analysis in Hass, it determined that a firefighter may pursue a cause of action based on additional acts of negligence, other than the init
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