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Contranchis v. Travelers Insurance Co.1/28/2003
AFFIRMED
Plaintiff/Appellant, Albert Contranchis, appeals from the trial court's ruling which granted summary judgment in favor of defendants, Hercules Sheet Metal, Inc, and Travelers Property Casualty Insurance Company. For the following reasons, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
On October 13, 1999, Plaintiff/Appellant, Albert Contranchis, ("Contranchis"), was employed by A-1 Steel Erectors to work on the construction of a metal building for the Cospolich Company in Norco, Louisiana. Contranchis alleges that in the process of construction, he fell through a pre-cut hole in sheet metal that was being used on the building, and, as a result, sustained various injuries to his head and spine.
On October 5, 2000, Contranchis filed a petition in the 29th JDC, for the Parish of St. Charles. In his petition, Contranchis asserted that Hercules Sheet Metal, Inc. ("Hercules"), who provided the sheet metal for the project, was strictly liable to him because it failed to warn him about a "slippery substance" on the metal that he claims caused the accident. Contranchis further named Travelers Property Casualty Insurance Company ("Travelers"), as Hercules' insurer. On January 28, 2002, Contranchis filed a Supplemental and Amending Petition, asserting that because Hercules had knowledge pertaining to the 18 foot height requirement in the building specifications, it had a duty to advise the erectors of the building of the hazards of walking on the building at "high heights" and a duty to advise the erectors about the hazard of construction at heights, safety procedures on construction at heights, as well as safety instructions on the installation of skylights.
On March 25, 2002, Hercules and Travelers filed a Motion for Summary Judgment asserting that an open skylight hole in a construction project was an "obvious danger" for which Hercules did not have a duty to warn. Hercules asserted that it did not alter the metal in any way from the time it came from the manufacturer. Hercules further argued that Contranchis and his employer were sophisticated users of sheet metal because they were engaged in a specialized business of erecting metal buildings, and, therefore, no duty to warn was necessary on those grounds as well. Following a hearing on May 13, 2002, the trial court granted Hercules' Motion for Summary Judgment. This timely appeal followed.
LAW AND ARGUMENT
In his lone assignment of error, Contranchis asserts that by granting summary judgment, the trial court abused his democratic right to trial by jury.
Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo under the same criteria that govern the district court's consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate. An appellate court must ask the same questions as does the trial court in determining whether summary judgment is appropriate: whether there is a genuine issue of material fact remaining to be decided, and whether the appellant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The appellate court must consider whether the summary judgment is appropriate under the circumstances of the case. There must be a "genuine" or "triable" issue on which reasonable persons could disagree. Under the amended version of LSA-C.C.P. art. 966, the burden of proof remains on the mover to show "that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." A material fact is one that would matter on the trial of the merits.
In this case, Contranchis first asserts that several genuine issues of fact remain: whether Hercules applied an oily substance on the metal sheet, whether Hercules failed to protect workers from s
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