Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. v. Ahrens Contracting, Inc.

PATRICIA L. COHEN, Judge.

Introduction

Ahrens Contracting, Inc. (Defendant) appeals the judgment of the Associate Division of the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis in favor of Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., d/b/a AT & T Missouri (Plaintiff). Defendant claims that the trial court erred in overruling Defendant’s motion for a directed verdict because Plaintiff failed to prove a prima facie case of negligence under the Underground Facility Safety and Damage Prevention Act (the “Act”). We affirm.

Background

On June 22, 2005, Plaintiff suffered damage to its underground telephone cable located…