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Morris v. Vaagen Bros. Lumber9/27/2005
rom China to Ione, to oversee the packing and shipping of the sawmill components. Mr. Shih drew a layout of the equipment before disassembly and arranged for numbers to be placed on each piece of equipment to facilitate reassembly in China. The numbers assigned to each piece of equipment did not impact the order in which the equipment was disassembled.
Mr. Shih hired Ken Brooke to reassemble the equipment in China. Mr. Shih also hired Marshall Hitt to inspect the equipment in Ione so that arrangements could be made to obtain spare parts. When these men were on the Ione site, they observed how the equipment was disassembled, but they did not make suggestions as to how the disassembly should be performed.
Disassembly and Collapse of the Stacker Building. E.P. Johnson employees Jim Reed, Jeff Dewey, Roger Rice, and Larry Taylor all worked to disassemble the equipment in the stacker building and all four men were present when the building collapsed, killing Ms. Morris. These men testified that they were directed by an E.P. Johnson employee. In particular, Mr. Schaub and Mr. Shih testified that no one from Global directed how the stacker building equipment should be dismantled or removed. E.P. Johnson employees also stated that they were not told how to dismantle the stacker by any of the Asian men who walked through the job site.
The stacker building had elevated work platforms attached to the walls that anchored to the equipment. E.P. Johnson did not use cables to secure the walls when the equipment was removed. When the collapse of the stacker building occurred, Mr. Dewey and Mr. Reed were in the process of removing the south catwalk and Mr. Rice was cutting stairs away from the landing and the building. A big gust of wind came up just before the building collapsed.
Citation for Code Violation
After Ms. Morris's death, the Department of Labor and Industries issued E.P. Johnson a citation and notice of assessment report for a code violation, stating:
Major changes were made to the Stacker building without due regard to maintaining a safety factor of 4 in that elevated work platforms that were attached to the walls and anchored to the Stacker machine were removed lending to an unplanned collapse of the structure.
CP at 85.
Summary Judgment
On summary judgment, the court dismissed Mr. Morris's claims based on premises liability, a statutory duty under RCW 49.17.060(2), and a common law duty based on retained control, joint venture, and outrage.
Appeal
On appeal, Mr. Morris contends there are material issues of fact as to whether: (1) Global had a duty to protect Ms. Morris as an invitee on its premises;
(2) Global had a non-delegable statutory duty to provide a safe workplace and to comply with WISHA regulations; and (3) Global had a common law duty to provide a safe workplace for E.P. Johnson's employees based on the theory of retained control.
ANALYSIS
Standard of Review
When reviewing an order granting summary judgment, this court undertakes the same inquiry as the trial court, considering all facts and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Kahn v. Salerno, 90 Wn. App. 110, 117, 951 P.2d 321 (1998). Summary judgment is granted only where there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Wilson v. Steinbach, 98 Wn.2d 434, 437, 656 P.2d 1030 (1982).
Possessor Liability
Mr. Morris contends there is a question of fact as to whether Global was the possessor of the premises and owed Ms. M
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