Devlin v. . Smith

Rule of Law:

A party who negligently supplies a device or structure for the use of others, which is imminently dangerous to human life if defective, owes a duty of care to any third party foreseeably injured by the defect, irrespective of any contractual relationship.

Facts:

• Smith, a painter, contracted with Kings County to paint the interior dome of a courthouse.
• Smith, who had no expertise in scaffold building, hired Stevenson, a reputable and experienced builder, as an independent contractor to erect a large scaffold.
• Stevenson constructed a ninety-foot-high scaffold for the express purpose of allowing Smith's employees to work on the dome.
• The plaintiff's intestate, an employee of Smith, was working on the scaffold when a supporting ledger broke, causing the scaffold to collapse.
• The collapse caused the employee to fall from the height, resulting in his death.
• Evidence suggested the scaffold collapsed because an upright support was fastened with nails instead of being lashed with rope, which would have been stronger and was the customary method.
• Smith did not supervise the scaffold's construction, was not aware of the defect, and relied on Stevenson's professional expertise.

Procedural Posture:

• The plaintiff, as administrator for the deceased's estate, filed a negligence action against both Smith (the employer) and Stevenson (the scaffold builder) in a New York trial court.
• At the trial, the court dismissed the complaint against both defendants, preventing the case from going to the jury.
• The plaintiff appealed the dismissals to the intermediate appellate court (General Term of the Supreme Court), which affirmed the trial court's judgment.
• The plaintiff then appealed to the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court.