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Date: 08-21-2014

Case Style: William Preston West, Jr. v. Sherwood Construction Co., Inc., et al.

Case Number: CJ-2010-4782

Judge: Dana Kuehn

Court: District Court, Tulsa County, Oklahoma

Plaintiff's Attorney: Richard A. Pizzo

Defendant's Attorney: Joseph R. Farris and Jeremy Ward for Sherwood Construction Co., Inc., et al.

Claire C. Bailey, Dan Jones, Mehry Taremi and Kyle Justin Eckman for Trimac Transportation Services, Inc.

Joshua I. Peach and Rodney Stewart for Retesa Remolques Tanques & Euipos A.S. De Cv.

Description: William Preston West, Jr. v. Sherwood Construction Co., Inc., et al.

Issue # 1.
Issue: PRODUCTS LIABILITY/NEGLIGENCE (OTHER)
Filed by: WEST, WILLIAM PRESTON JR
Filed Date: 08/02/2010
Party Name: Disposition Information:

Defendant: SHERWOOD CONSTRUCTION CO OF OKLAHOMA INC
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 02/07/2012. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: GREENHILL BUILDERS LLC
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 11/24/2010. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: GREENHILL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY INC
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 11/24/2010. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: GREENHILL CORPORATION
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 11/24/2010. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: GREENHILL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 11/24/2010. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: GREENHILL LAND ACQUISITION COMPNAY LLC
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 11/24/2010. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: Greenhill Materials Co LC
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 11/24/2010. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: GREENHILL OWNERS ASSOCIATION INC
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 11/24/2010. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: GREENHILL PROPERTIES LLC
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 11/24/2010. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: RETESA REMOLQUES TANQUES Y EUIPOS S A DE CV
Disposed: DISMISSED, 08/21/2013. Judge.

Defendant: TRAILERS OF TEXAS INC
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 01/29/2014. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: Greenhill Concrete
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 01/29/2014. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: SHERWOOD CONSTRUCTION CO INC
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 01/29/2014. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: BALVANERA INDUSTRIES
Disposed: OTHER, 06/19/2014. Other.

Defendant: RICSA INDUSTRIAL
Disposed: OTHER, 06/19/2014. Other.

Issue # 2.
Issue: CROSS CLAIM - INDEMNITY &/OR CONTRIBUTION (OTHER)
Filed by: SHERWOOD CONSTRUCTION CO INC
Filed Date: 12/19/2012
Party Name: Disposition Information:

Defendant: TRAILERS OF TEXAS INC
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 02/13/2014. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: BALVANERA INDUSTRIES
Disposed: OTHER, 06/19/2014. Other.

Defendant: RICSA INDUSTRIAL
Disposed: OTHER, 06/19/2014. Other.

Issue # 3.
Issue: CROSS CLAIM - INDEMNITY &/OR CONTRIBUTION (OTHER)
Filed by: GREENHILL CORPORATION
Filed Date: 12/19/2012
Party Name: Disposition Information:

Defendant: TRAILERS OF TEXAS INC
Disposed: DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, 02/13/2014. Dismissed- Settled.

Defendant: BALVANERA INDUSTRIES
Disposed: OTHER, 06/19/2014. Other.

Defendant: RICSA INDUSTRIAL
Disposed: OTHER, 06/19/2014. Other.

Issue # 4.
Issue: 3rd PARTY PETITION #1 - INDEMNIFICATION & CONTRIBUTION (OTHER)
Filed by: SHERWOOD CONSTRUCTION CO INC
Filed Date: 07/25/2013
Party Name: Disposition Information:

3rd Party Defendant: TRIMAC TRANSPORTATION SERVICES INC
Disposed: OTHER, 06/19/2014. Other.

Defendant: TRAILERS OF TEXAS INC
Disposed: DISMISSED - WITH PREJUDICE, 08/21/2014. Dismissed- Settled.

Undisputed facts:

1. Plaintiff was allegedly injured on August 4, 2008 at Greenhill Concrete owned by Sherwood. (Ex. 1, West deposition at 50:19-24; Fourth Amended Petition ¶ 9).

2. Plaintiff was a truck driver employee of Third-Party Defendant Trimac Transportation at the time of his injuries. (Ex. 1, West deposition at 206:10-207:6; 209:15- 2 10:10).
3. It is standard in the dry bulk trucking industry for trucking companies to train their own drivers to unload cement powder into customer’s storage tanks. (Ex. 1, West deposition at 233:12-2 1 and at 206:10-207:6; 209:15-210:10).
4. Trimac provided safety training to Plaintiff. (Ex. 1, West deposition at 206:10-
207:6; 209:15-210:10).
5. Greenhill Concrete did not train Plaintiff. (Ex. 1, West deposition at 206:10-
207:6; 209:15-210:10).
6. Sherwood had an agreement with Trimac whereby Trimac picked up and delivered concrete powder to Greenhill Concrete on August 4, 2008. (Ex. 2, Carbonneau at 114:13-22).
7. Trimac, an independent contractor of Sherwood, was paid by Sherwood to deliver powder cement, and in addition, Trimac was paid 1.5 hours per trip for loading and unloading cement powder. (Invoice Example, Ex. 3).
8. Trimac delivered concrete powder to Greenhill concrete for several years, making deliveries 6 to 10 times a week. (Ex. 2, Carbonneau deposition at 13 1:22-133:14).
9. Trimac was an independent contractor of Sherwood. Sherwood did not control Trimac and did not manage Trimac’s employees. (Ex. 2, Carbonneau deposition at 71:17-24).
10. While unloading cement powder from Plaintiff’s tractor trailer, Plaintiff was injured. (Ex. 1, West deposition at 62:14-63:19).
11. Plaintiffs claim is based on the contention that a valve should have been installed on Sherwood’s storage tank. (Ex. 1, West deposition at 50:25-51:6; 53:2-8; 253:17-254:4).
12. Sherwood did not design, manufacture, distribute, or sell the storage tank. (Ex. 1, West deposition at 52:19-53:1).
13. Trimac trained Plaintiff. Trimac told Plaintiff before he ever popped a cap or opened a valve on one of the storage tanks, he must determine if the storage tank was pressurized. (Ex. 1, Plaintiffs deposition at 68:24-69:13; 96:19-98:6; 242:22-244:23; Ex. 2, Carbonneau deposition at 92:9-93:1).
14. The tank in question possessed a functioning pressure gauge so Plaintiff could determine if the tank was pressurized on August 4, 2008. (Ex. 1, Plaintiffs deposition at pg. 71 line 24 through pg. 72 line 4).
15. Plaintiff did not look at the tank’s pressure gauge before popping the cap off the hose. (Ex. 1, Plaintiffs deposition at pg. 71 line 24 through pg. 72 line 4).
16. Trimac also trained Plaintiff to determine if a tank was under pressure by slowly loosening a cam lock ear on a tank or hose cap. (Ex. 2, Carbonneau deposition at pg. 43 lines 3-
25).
17. Plaintiff did not slowly loosen the cam lock ear on the hose cap to determine if the tank was under pressure on August 4, 2008. (Ex. 1, Plaintiffs deposition at pg. 80 lines 15-25).
18. The trailer Plaintiff was pulling on August 4, 2008 used air pressure to push cement powder out of his trailer into Sherwood’s storage tank. (Ex. 1, Plaintiff’s deposition at pg. 70 line 15 through pg. 71 line 15).
19. Plaintiffs injuries allegedly sustained on August 4, 2008 resulted from his failure to adhere to his training instructions and the storage tank warnings. Plaintiff popped the camlock
off the hose cap quickly without first determining if it was under pressure. (Ex. 1, Plaintiffs deposition at 80:8-81:6; Ex. 2, Carbonneau deposition, 104:1-105:21).
20. if Plaintiff would have determined the tank was under pressure before popping the hose cap off, the August 4, 2008 incident would not have happened. (Ex. 2, Carbonneau deposition at 92:9-20; 101:1-102:6).
21. Plaintiffs co-worker Galen Daniels, also a Trimac driver at the time of the incident, regularly delivered loads to Greenhill Concrete both before and after August 4, 2008 believes:
a. It is industry standard for Trimac to train its drivers how to unload product into storage tanks and how to do it safely. (Ex. 4, Galen Daniels deposition at pg. 82 lines 17-21).
b. It is the employees (in this case Mr. West’s) obligation to know his job duties and to perform them correctly. (Ex. 4, Galen Daniels deposition at pg. 82 lines 22- 24).
c. It is always the Trimac driver’s obligation to make sure the storage tank delivering powder cement to is not under pressure. (Ex. 4, Galen Daniels deposition at pg. 83 lines 9-12).
d. It is always the Trimac driver’s obligation to determine if it’s safe to touch the tank before the Trimac driver starts working with it. (Ex. 4, Galen Daniels deposition at pg. 83 lines 5-8).
e. Mr. Daniels did not ever have any concerns operating around Sherwood’s storage tanks, he felt the tanks were safe, and similar to those used in the industry. (Ex. 4, Galen Daniels deposition at pg. 94 lines 12-23).
f. Mr. Daniels delivered cement powder to Greenhill Concrete for a number of years and was never injured in the same manner as Plaintiff alleges. (Ex. 4, Galen Daniels deposition at pg. 126 lines 2 1-25).
g. Plaintiff could have avoided the August 4, 2008 incident by determining if the tank was under pressure before Plaintiff did anything at the concrete plant. (Ex. 4, Galen Daniels deposition at pg. 82 lines 25 through pg. 83 line 4).
h. This incident could have been avoided whether there was a shutoff valve on the fill line or not. (Ex. 4, Galen Daniels deposition at pg. 106 lines 14-17).
i. Plaintiff was injured because of his own stupidity. (Ex. 4, Galen Daniels deposition at pg. 60 lines 3-23 and pg. 70 lines 13-16).
22. It was Plaintiff’s obligation as a Trimac driver to determine if the tank was under pressure before proceeding. (Ex. 2, Carbonneau deposition at 92:9-20; 10 1:1-102:6).

Outcome: 11-24-2010 DISPDWOP 1 GREENHILL BUILDERS LLC 76560129 Nov 24 2010 2:18:31:720PM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
11-24-2010 DISPDWOP 1 GREENHILL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY INC 76560130 Nov 24 2010 2:18:31:770PM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
11-24-2010 DISPDWOP 1 GREENHILL CORPORATION 76560131 Nov 24 2010 2:18:31:790PM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
11-24-2010 DISPDWOP 1 GREENHILL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY 76560132 Nov 24 2010 2:18:31:820PM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
11-24-2010 DISPDWOP 1 GREENHILL LAND ACQUISITION COMPNAY LLC 76560133 Nov 24 2010 2:18:32:060PM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
11-24-2010 DISPDWOP 1 Greenhill Materials Co LC 76560134 Nov 24 2010 2:18:32:290PM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
11-24-2010 DISPDWOP 1 GREENHILL OWNERS ASSOCIATION INC 76560135 Nov 24 2010 2:18:32:360PM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
11-24-2010 DISPDWOP 1 GREENHILL PROPERTIES LLC 76560136 Nov 24 2010 2:18:32:380PM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
02-07-2012 DISPDWOP 1 SHERWOOD CONSTRUCTION CO OF OKLAHOMA INC 80708006 Feb 7 2012 3:57:59:143PM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE

01-29-2014 DISPDWOP 1 Greenhill Concrete 88227890 Jan 30 2014 10:36:34:180AM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
01-29-2014 DISPDWOP 1 SHERWOOD CONSTRUCTION CO INC 88227896 Jan 30 2014 10:37:04:000AM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE

02-13-2014 DISPDWOP 2 TRAILERS OF TEXAS INC 88390055 Feb 14 2014 9:37:13:487AM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
02-13-2014 DISPDWOP 3 TRAILERS OF TEXAS INC 88390056 Feb 14 2014 9:37:13:867AM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE

08-21-2014 DISPCVDMWP 4 TRAILERS OF TEXAS INC 91071443 Aug 21 2014 2:28:56:090PM - $ 0.00
DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments:



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