Pappert

Plaintiffs Susan A. Pappert and her minor children, Michael D. Pappert, Julie M. Pappert and Mark C. Pappert, appeal, from the judgment entered on the jury verdict in favor of defendant San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) in their wrongful death action arising from the electrocution of Charles Pappert while attempting to trim a tree close to SDG&E’s uninsulated 12,000-volt power line. The special verdict declared SDG&E was negligent, but its negligence was not a legal cause of the death.

The Papperts contend the court erred by submitting the issue of superseding cause, based upon decedent’s own actions to the jury and, having done so, erroneously stated the test on this issue. For the reasons following, we conclude the decedent’s conduct did not constitute a superseding cause as a matter of law. We further find the instructions given on superseding cause prejudicially failed to tell the jury SDG&E could not escape liability for its negligence unless it not only found that SDG&E could not reasonably have foreseen decedent’s intervening acts but also that SDG&E’s negligence did not cause an injury of a type which was reasonably foreseeable. Finally, we determine the…