James RATLIFF v. Jimmy MOSS
84-82
Supreme Court of Arkansas
November 5, 1984
678 S.W.2d 369
Bridges, Young, Matthews, Holmes & Drake, by: Michael J. Dennis, for appellee.
ROBERT H. DUDLEY, Justiсe. The plaintiff contends that the trial court erred by dismissing his complaint and amended complaint. We affirm. Jurisdiction is in this court to construe the Arkansas Rules of thе Supreme Court,
In the complaint, which sounded in tort, plaintiff alleged that he was employed by the defendant and was injured by a fellow employee. The complaint did not contain an allegation of negligence on the part of the defendant nor did it contain an averment of negligence by the fellow employee. It recited only that plaintiff was injured when an employee dropped a piece of equipment on his leg.
The defendant filed а Motion to Dismiss for failure to state facts upon which relief could be granted.
The defendant next filed a motiоn for summary judgment in which he pleaded that recovery was barred by the fellow servant rule. In response, the plaintiff acknowledged the fellow servant rule but pleaded that he would file an amended complaint in which he would allege negligence on the part of the defendant. The plaintiff then filed his amended complaint. The real issue on appeal is whether the amended complaint contains a statement of facts showing that the plaintiff is entitled tо relief. The pertinent part is as follows:
2. That in addition to the allegations contained in the Complaint filed on January 19, 1983, the plaintiff alleges herein that the defendant, Jimmy Moss, was personally present at the time of the incident on November 5, 1981; that the employees of the defendant were acting under the specific supervision of the defendant; that the directions of the defendant, Jimmy Moss, in describing how he wanted each piece of equipment handled by his employees were erroneous in that he described an improper procedure for the repair of the equipment. The plaintiff herein allеges negligence of the defendant, Jimmy Moss, in demanding and directing the action of his employees in an erroneous and negligent manner, such actions being thе proximate cause of the negligent injury to the plaintiff herein.
Later, defendant‘s motions were set for hearing. At that hearing, the trial court announced thаt he was granting summary judgment on the original complaint and dismissing the amended complaint because it “contains conclusions, not particulars...” The order reflects that summary judgment was granted.
On appeal, plaintiff contends that the fellow servant rule is an affirmative defense which must be pleaded by
We do not reach the issues raised by the plaintiff becausе, even if the trial court announced the wrong reason for its ruling, an appellate court will sustain the judgment if it is right. Armstrong v. Harrell, 279 Ark. 24, 648 S.W.2d 450 (1983). The trial judge in this case reached the right result sincе the original complaint did not aver negligence on the part of the fellow employee, only an incident and an injury, while the amended complаint merely concluded that the defendant erroneously described and directed a negligent procedure. It did not state any facts.
A pleading which sets forth a claim for relief, whether a complaint, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, shall contain ... (2) a statemеnt in ordinary and concise language of facts showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, ... (Emphasis supplied)
Both the complaint and the amended сomplaint failed to make a “statement in ordinary and concise language of facts showing that the pleader is entitled to relief” because neither contains a factual allegation of any act of negligence. Thus, they were correctly dismissed under
The dismissal should have been for failure to state facts upon which relief was granted and should have been without prejudice. If that procedure had occurred, the
Affirmed as modified.
GEORGE ROSE SMITH, J., and HOLLINGSWORTH, J., concur.
GEORGE ROSE SMITH, Justice, concurring. I join in the majority opinion, but I take this opportunity to express my personal view that wе should prospectively abolish the fellow servant doctrine. It was created during the industrial revolution, by court decisions, and rested on the theory that a wоrkman was free to leave his employment at any time and therefore could not recover for the negligence of a fellow servant with whom he chose to work. Prosser, Torts, § 80 (5th ed., 1984); Harper & James Torts, §§ 21.3 and 21.4 (1956). It was actually a form of assumed risk, the courts taking the position that a servant assumed the risk of his fellоw servant‘s negligence and of dangers that were open and obvious. And, inasmuch as any slight contributory negligence completely defeated recovery, the fellow servant doctrine was a bar to recovery as between employer and employee.
All those doctrines have been generally abolished by our legislature. Comparative fault has superseded contributory negligence and assumed risk.
P. A. HOLLINGSWORTH, Justice, concurring. The last sentence of the Court‘s opinion states that the dismissal is
The Court concluded that neither complaint stated any facts. I disagreе. We have held that pleadings are to be liberally construed and that they are sufficient if they advise a defendant of his obligations and allege a breach of them. Allied Chemical v. Van Buren Sch. Dist., 264 Ark. 810, 575 S.W.2d 445 (1979). We have also held that “a liberal construction requires that every reasonable intendment should be indulged in favor of the pleader and effect should be given to substance rather than form regardless of the name of the pleading.” Home Ins. Co. v. Williams, 252 Ark. 1012, 482 S.W.2d 626 (1972).
I believe that liberally construing the pleadings filed in this case, they are sufficient. The appellant informed the appellee of the date the incident occurred, the location, and the parties involvеd. Further he explained what act on the part of the appellee he considered negligent — the erroneous instructing of the appelleе‘s employees. Therefore, he notified the appellee of his obligations and of a breach of those obligations. I think the complaints meet the test and were sufficient.
Therefore, I would reach the issue raised by the appellant where he contended that the fellow servant rule is an affirmаtive defense which must be pleaded by answer, or else it is deemed waived.