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Dramble v. Marc W. Lawrence Building Corp.9/10/2002
JUDGMENT: Affirmed
Defendant-appellant Marc W. Lawrence Building Corp. [hereinafter appellant] appeals the Decision of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas that found appellant negligent in the injury of plaintiff-appellee Ron Dramble [hereinafter appellee].
STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND CASE
Appellee was the owner and an employee of Dramble Masonry and Concrete, Inc. [hereinafter Dramble Masonry]. Dramble Masonry was serving as the masonry subcontractor at a construction site, at which condominiums were being constructed. Appellant was the general contractor for the project. The Preserve Co. was the owner of the real property and defendant Pat D'Aurelio was The Preserve Co.'s on site employee serving as project manager. Dennis Brown of Brown Carpentry was the carpentry subcontractor.
On December 27, 1994, appellee was working at the construction site. Appellee was inspecting the site to determine whether the preliminary work of other subcontractors was complete so that the basement could be completed. Appellee testified that he entered the condominium under construction and went to the basement stairs. Appellee testified that when he took his first step on the stairway, the stairway started to buckle and collapsed. Appellee and the staircase landed in the basement.
Two of appellees co-workers, Dale Rine and Darren Dramble (appellee's son), rushed into the condominium after the fall. Appellee was seriously injured as a result of the fall.
At trial, there was evidence that the stairs had been attached by only two nails and, as is customary in the construction process, were suspended at the bottom. However, Dennis Brown testified that when he initially installed the stairs, he used 12 to 16 nails to secure the stairs at the top and had incorrectly left the stairs too long. However, Brown testified that upon seeing the stairs prior to the fall, someone had removed the extra length from the stairs.
On August 24, 1999, appellee filed a Personal Injury Complaint against appellant, Marc W. Lawrence Construction Corp., The Preserve Co., Pat D'Aurelio and Dennis Brown. Although Dennis Brown was initially named as a defendant, appellee voluntarily dismissed his claim against Brown. Brown subsequently appeared as a witness for appellee.
After lengthy discovery, summary judgment motions and procedural issues, including the dismissal and refiling of the case, the matter proceeded to trial on August 20, 2001, through August 23, 2001. On August 24, 2001, the jury returned a verdict in favor of appellee and against appellant and awarded appellee $100,000.00 in compensatory damages. The jury found that the Preserve Co. and Pat D'Aurelio were not liable. Following a Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict and a Motion for New Trial, both of which were denied by the trial court, appellant filed a timely Notice of Appeal. Upon appeal, appellant raises the following assignments of error:
"I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FAILING TO GRANT THE MOTION FOR DIRECTED VERDICT IN FAVOR OF THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR WHERE THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR OWED NO DUTY TO AN EMPLOYEE OF A SUBCONTRACTOR.
"II. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR'S MOTION FOR JUDGMENT NOTWITHSTANDING THE VERDICT WHERE THE SPECIFIC FINDINGS OF FACT MADE BY THE JURY DETERMINED ALL ISSUES PERTAINING TO THE ABSENCE OF ANY DUTY OWED TO THE EMPLOYEE OF A SUBCONTRACTOR.
"III.THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FAILING TO INSTRUCT THE JURY ON THE NO DUTY RULE WHERE IT WAS A CORRECT STATEMENT OF THE LAW, ESSENTIAL TO THE JURY'S DELIBERATIONS, AND SUCH AN INSTRUCTION WAS IN FACT PROPOSED BY EACH OF TH
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