Rhodes v. Wright

SULLIVAN, Justice.

The trial court granted summary judgment for Defendants in a negligence action for the death of a worker on its premises. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that Defendants did not control the area where the accident occurred and that the danger was obvious. Finding genuine issues of material fact in this regard, we reverse.

Background

On February 13, 2001, some time after 3:00 a.m., Dwaine D. Gurtz, a truckdriver for Tyson Foods, Inc., was struck and killed by a forklift while at Wright Brothers Farm. Defendants own the farm and raise chickens under a contract for Tyson.…