05 Feb 08 Asphalt firm found liable in death of man struck by dump truck

On Aug. 31, 2005, a dump truck smashed into John Teuber’s 2003 Ford Ranger as he pulled into the intersection of U.S. 71 and Bannister Road.

The dump truck, which was carrying 18 tons of asphalt and westbound on Bannister Road, had gone through a red light. Teuber, 65, died en route to a hospital.

The asphalt was being shipped to a paving project at the Honeywell plant in south Kansas City. The supplier, Vance Bros. Inc. of Kansas City, had hired Trotter Trucking Co. of Raytown to provide the trucks and drivers.

At the time, Trotter Trucking had an “unsatisfactory” rating from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which had placed it “out of service.”

The 1987 Freightliner that hit Teuber’s vehicle was found to have 17 safety violations, including brakes that were out of alignment, air and oil leaks, and missing lights.

Although Vance Bros. had a corporate policy requiring its independent contractors to have “satisfactory” safety ratings, the policy was not conveyed to the manager who hired the asphalt haulers.

Last week, a Jackson County jury found Vance Bros. liable for Teuber’s death. The jurors ordered the company to pay Teuber’s wife and son $12 million in compensatory damages.

The Teubers’ attorney, Mike Ketchmark of Davis Ketchmark & McCreight, called the verdict “a loud warning to the construction companies in town to clean up their act and start hiring safe and competent dump truck companies to deliver their materials.”

Ketchmark said that Vance Bros. could have easily learned that Trotter Trucking had been placed out of service by going to the Transportation Department’s Web site.

Ketchmark said that under Missouri law, Vance Bros. had a duty to exercise reasonable care and hire a skilled and competent contractor.

“Unfortunately, Trotter Trucking was not a skilled and competent contractor,” he said.

The attorney for Vance Bros., Eric Swanson of Schmitt Manz Swanson & Mulhern, said the company was considering its options, but he declined to comment further.

The driver of the dump truck, Stacy B. Stromile, pleaded guilty last January to involuntary manslaughter. Two months later, Jackson County Circuit Judge John O’Malley sentenced him to “shock time” in jail. The rest of Stromile’s sentence was suspended, and he was placed on probation for three years.

Changing climate

Stinson Morrison Hecker has formed a climate-change practice group, consisting of 30 lawyers drawn from its corporate, environmental, energy, securities, regulatory, real estate and litigation practices.

The group will focus on climate-change legislation and regulation and their impact on business.

The group currently is immersed in the standoff over Sunflower Electric Power Corp.’s proposal to build two coal-fired generators near Holcomb, Kan. Kansas Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby rejected the proposal, and Stinson represents Finney County and the Garden City Chamber of Commerce in litigation seeking to overturn Bremby’s decision. The case is now before the Kansas Supreme Court.

Although several other U.S. law firms have established climate-change practices, Stinson is thought to be the first in Kansas City to do so.