Duckett v. Whorton

HARRIS, Justice.

Plaintiffs owned a business building in Marion, Iowa, in which automobiles were repaired and painted. About 1970 a paint booth was built inside the building at a cost of about $4500. In March of 1973 defendant rented the building from plaintiffs to be used by him in conducting the same business. Defendant knew that, because of unsafe wiring and inadequate ventilation, the paint booth did not comply with OSHA regulations.

Prompted by a warning from a government inspector, the defendant purchased a portable paint booth and removed the old one to create more work space. Plaintiffs…