(Download) "St. John v. R.R. Donnelley & Sons" by Supreme Court of Illinois ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: St. John v. R.R. Donnelley & Sons
- Author : Supreme Court of Illinois
- Release Date : January 21, 1973
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 64 KB
Description
William Lloyd St. John and his wife, Mary, the plaintiffs, brought an action for the wrongful death of their son, David, in the circuit court of Coles County against the defendant R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., Inc., and other persons. The first count of the complaint was brought under the Wrongful Death Act, and in the second count the plaintiffs charged that their son's death had been caused by the defendants' wilful violation of the Structural Work Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1967, ch. 48, pars. 60-69). Prior to trial, all the defendants save R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. were dismissed from the action. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant on the wrongful death count but gave a verdict for the plaintiffs for $42,000 on the count charging violation of the Structural Work Act. Upon the defendant's appeal the judgment was affirmed by the appellate court, with one judge dissenting. (5 Ill. App.3d 538.) We granted the defendant's petition for leave to appeal. David St. John was employed as a laborer by Campbell-Lowrie-Lautermilch Corporation, the general contractor for a new plant being built by the defendant. On July 21, 1967, David Swanson, a foreman of the general contractor, instructed certain of his employees to go to the roof of the plant, remove debris and stack runways, which had been used in moving carts filled with concrete across the roof. Each runway was constructed of four 2 x 4's, 8 to 10 feet long, which had been laid parallel and covered with 1 x 6's measuring about 36 to 42 inches long, placed across and secured at right angles to the 2 x 4's. There was about a one-inch separation between the 1 x 6's. Each runway weighed seventy to eighty pounds, and after being used they had been scattered about the roof. At the time of the incident we discuss, the roof was in the process of being covered with felt, tar, and gravel. The runways and debris were being removed to permit the completion of this roof-covering process.