S. S. Kresge Co. V. Port Of Longview

The Port of Longview appeals from a directed verdict in favor of S. S. Kresge Company in Kresge's tort action based on the collapse of the roof of the Port's warehouse and resulting damage to goods consigned to Kresge. The major issue concerning liability is whether the Superior Court erred in applying the vicarious liability of a possessor of land for construction work by an independent contractor, as expressed in section 422 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts (1965), or whether the court should have allowed the jury to apply the common-law principles of negligence to conduct of a "warehouseman" under RCW 62A.7-204. A threshold issue is whether the court should have stayed the trial until, under the doctrine of "primary jurisdiction," the Federal Maritime Commission was given the opportunity to decide the validity of certain exculpatory clauses in a tariff the Port had filed with the F.M.C. We believe the court correctly refused to recognize primary jurisdiction in the F.M.C., but we reverse the judgment on the grounds it was improper to impose strict, vicarious liability on the Port, in disregard of common-law principles of negligence.