Contractor Owed Duty To Soldier Electrocuted By Abandoned Latrine Even Though Army Postponed Contract's Scheduled Demolition Date
02/26/08
Contractor contracted to demolish abandoned latrines on Army base. Pursuant to contract with the Army, contractor was directed by the Army to obtain a new postponed date for demolishing the latrine in question. Meanwhile, following an exercise on a firing range, a soldier leaned his head and back against the abandoned, metal latrine and was electrocuted to death, because the building was insufficiently grounded. Under Arkansas law, a party may recover for damages from breach of contract when that party is a third-party beneficiary to the contract. Under the contract, contractor had a duty to demolish the latrines in accordance with work scheduling practices and had a duty to maintain and repair the latrine pending demolition. Army’s postponement of the demolition date did not remove contractor’s duty to maintain and repair the latrine pending demolition. Contractor’s receipt of work orders for electrical work in three other latrines put contractor on notice that an “appreciable risk of harm was foreseeable.” District court judge’s ruling that contractor had a duty under the contract as a matter of law to inspect, repair and maintain the latrine was proper. Jury judgment of $6.5 million is proper. The Shaw Group, Inc., v. Marcum, et al., Docket No. 06-4115/4188 (8th Cir, 2/26/2008).
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