Brown v. Wisconsin Natural Gas Co.

1. Negligence of the Gas Company.

A gas utility is under a duty to exercise “a higher degree of vigilance and caution than in ordinary affairs of life and business ... in dealing with natural gas because of its highly explosive and dangerous character and its tendency to escape its proper containers.” Webb v. Wisconsin Southern Gas Co. (1965), 27 Wis. 2d 343, 350, 134 N. W. 2d 407. Accord, Weber v. Interstate Light & Power Co. (1955), 268 Wis. 479, 481, 68 N. W. 2d 39. The initial question to be determined is whether the trial court’s finding that the Gas Company violated its duty of care was…