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Roman-Gonzalez v. PREPA, 94-1395 (1994)

Court: Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Number: 94-1395 Visitors: 11
Filed: Sep. 29, 1994
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: September 29, 1994 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION] UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT ____________________ No. 94-1395 HECTOR ROMAN GONZALEZ, ET AL., Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. PUERTO RICO ELECTRIC POWER AUTHORITY, ET AL.
USCA1 Opinion









September 29, 1994
[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

____________________

No. 94-1395

HECTOR ROMAN GONZALEZ, ET AL.,

Plaintiffs, Appellants,

v.

PUERTO RICO ELECTRIC POWER AUTHORITY, ET AL.,

Defendants, Appellees.


____________________


APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO


[Hon. Jaime Pieras, Jr., Senior U.S. District Judge]
__________________________

____________________

Before

Selya, Circuit Judge,
_____________

Aldrich, Senior Circuit Judge,
____________________

and Boudin, Circuit Judge.
_____________

____________________


Victoria A. Ferrer-Kerber with whom Law Offices of Ferrer &
__________________________ __________________________
Cardona was on brief for appellants.
_______
Lilliam Elisa Mendoza Toro, with whom Pedro Toledo was on brief
___________________________ ____________
for appellees.
____________________


____________________
















Per Curiam. This is a diversity action brought in
__________

the United States District Court for the District of Puerto

Rico for personal injury. Plaintiff, Hector Roman-Gonzalez,

as a lark, climbed a guy wire attached to a pole belonging to

defendant, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. He climbed

so high that his head came in contact with the high voltage

power line the pole was carrying, and he was severely burned.

On the basis of the pleadings, affidavits, and depositions of

experts, the court entered summary judgment for defendant,

and plaintiff appeals. We affirm, basically adopting the

court's comprehensive opinion.

After reciting the evidence, the court stated that

defendant had established that "no proximate cause exists

between any act or omission by PREPA and plaintiff's

injuries," even if defendant had been negligent with respect

to the guy wire. At first blush this raises a question,

since contributory negligence by a plaintiff does not

necessarily break the chain of causation. Widow of Davila v.
_______________

Water Resources Authority, 90 P.R.R. 316 (1964). However,
__________________________

the court's concept was that defendant may have been

negligent with respect to a lineman properly at the locus,

but not as to plaintiff, who voluntarily trespassed. The

court's reasoning was defendant "could not have foreseen that

a twenty year-old would climb 23 to 24 feet on a guy wire to

amuse himself." "[T]he controlling factor in determining



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whether [defendant's] actions or inactions are negligent

[with respect to plaintiff] is the probability of risk

involved." "The Authority could not reasonably have foreseen

the situation . . . [which] was too fortuitous to require the

electric company to guard against it."

We agree. While anything is possible, there must

be a limit in a practical world to what conduct must

reasonably be foreseen. Small children could not be expected

to climb a wire to that height; a man of twenty ought to know

the difference between a slack, supporting guy wire openly

touchable at ground level, and an electric power line, and

that electricity is dangerous. Hence there was no duty to

either one to provide a more complex structure.

Affirmed.
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Source:  CourtListener

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