Hargrove v. Frommeyer & Company (Et Al‪.‬

On March 10, 1961, Plaintiffs-Appellees Hargrove and Lee were employed at the site of a warehouse under construction in the City of Philadelphia. On the above date, the Appellees were engaged in the pouring of a concrete floor in the unfinished warehouse when one of the recently constructed walls of the building suddenly came tumbling down on top of them. They were severely injured and thereafter separately brought suits to recover damages from United States Plywood Corporation (hereinafter referred to as Plywood), the party for whom the warehouse was being constructed, and Frommeyer and Company (hereinafter referred to as Frommeyer), the masonry subcontractor on the job. The general contractor on the job, Robert E. Lamb, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Lamb), the employer of the Appellees, was joined as an additional Defendant in both cases. The two separate actions were consolidated for trial purposes. A jury trial was held, lasting several days, and the jury awarded substantial verdicts for each Appellee against both original Defendants and the Additional Defendant.