Kearney v. Kansas Public Service Co‪.‬

The opinion of the court was delivered by Kearney, et al v. Kansas Public Service Company, Inc., et al, case No. 54,224, (hereinafter referred to as Kearney or the Kearney case), and the ten cases consolidated with it in this appeal, grew out of a natural gas explosion which occurred in Lawrence, Kansas, in the early morning hours of December 15, 1977. The explosion claimed two lives and caused serious personal injuries along with extensive property damage. Fourteen separate lawsuits were filed by various plaintiffs against the Kansas Public Service Company, Inc. (KPS), E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc., (du Pont), and Dresser Industries, Inc. (Dresser). Two cases were settled by KPS and are not germane to this appeal. One of the cases was partially tried, then settled by KPS. The instant Kearney case was tried and resulted in a verdict placing 100% of the fault upon KPS and awarding actual damages of $97,066.42 and punitive damages of $80,000.00. Of the remaining ten cases, eight were settled between KPS and the plaintiffs and two are still pending. Subsequent to settlement of the eight cases KPS filed cross-claims in each case against du Pont and against Dresser for comparative indemnity. There have been no cross-claims filed in the two cases which are still pending in district court. However, after the jury verdict in Kearney, du Pont and Dresser were granted summary judgments in the two pending cases and the eight settled cases. Since the Kearney jury found du Pont and Dresser to be without fault in the unfortunate accident, the court found no genuine issues of material fact remaining upon the plaintiffs' claims or the KPS cross-claims. KPS appeals from the Kearney judgment as well as the summary judgments in the ten other cases consolidated with it on appeal. KPS is a one-city public utility company which supplies [233 Kan. 495]