Jeffers v. Offe

At the request of plaintiffs-appellants, Jeffers, the defendant-appellee, Darrel Offe, came to the Jeffers house at 8:00 a.m. one day to excavate foundation footings with a backhoe. He hooked a pipeline, and his inspection led him to the belief that it was a water line. The Jeffers were not at home at the time so Offe looked through the basement window to inspect for water damage. He could see no leaking and could not see water in the basement and he made no further inspection. There was an explosion at 9:30 a.m., and, it turns out, of course, that Offe had hooked and ruptured a gas line. The jury returned a verdict for the defendants.