Fegles Const. Co., Limited v. McLaughlin Const. Co

All of the parties are contractors who were engaged in construction work at Fort Peck Powerhouse on July 16, 1947, when a fire occurred which resulted in damage to property of appellee McLaughlin.

McLaughlin was building an addition to the powerhouse under a contract with the United States Government. Appellant Feg-les was performing certain construction work under a contract with the United States Government, which included the installation of three surge tanks on top of the powerhouse. The installation of the surge tanks had been sublet by Fegles to appellant Chicago Bridge.

The trial court found that the fire was caused by the acts of the workmen installing the surge tanks who, “in doing and performing said work, negligently and carelessly permitted red hot rivets to escape and drop from the place where defendants were erecting, setting up and installing said three steel surge tanks, and into and upon the said wood forms, timbers, scaffolding and lumber of the plaintiff”, and that “the said defendants knew or by the exercise of ordinary care should have known, that red hot rivets had been repeatedly dropped and permitted to escape from their place of operations and into and…