St. John v. City of Naperville

Plaintiff, Henry St. John, appeals from a pretrial order granting judgment in favor of defendant, City of Naperville (Naperville). The only issue on appeal is whether the Illinois Structural Work Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 48, par. 60 et seq.) is applicable under the facts stipulated to in the case at bar. The plaintiff's fourth amended complaint was brought in two counts alleging a cause of action in count I under the Illinois Structural Work Act and in count II under common law negligence against Naperville and other named defendants not parties to this appeal. Count I, the only count pertinent in this appeal, alleged that on the date of the occurrence Naperville provided the electric power for the development of a real estate housing development and subdivision; that plaintiff was in the employ of Utility Dynamics Corporation which was hired to do electrical line work on the subdivision in connection with its erection and construction; that as plaintiff was engaged in the repair of a power line and transformer and installation of a pedestal, he was required to grasp the power line which was charged thereby causing him severe injury; and that Naperville violated the provisions of the Structural Work Act in numerous respects including the wilful failure to provide a crane to assist the plaintiff in performance of his duties and the wilful failure to provide a scaffold where plaintiff could safely engage in the repair of the power line and transformer while in the course of his employment. Naperville filed a motion to dismiss under section 48 of the Civil Practice Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 110, par. 48), stating that plaintiff alleged that he was injured when he grasped a certain power line, that there is no allegation in the fourth amended complaint, that this occurrence involved the use of a scaffold, and that plaintiff's discovery deposition indicated that he was standing in a ditch grasping the wire when the accident happened. The trial court heard arguments on this motion, at which time the plaintiff's deposition was referred to and read from on several occasions. However, that deposition is not a part of the limited record on appeal provided to us. The parties also stipulated to certain facts as to how the plaintiff was injured. The court below reserved its ruling and indicated it would file a written opinion on the motion.