CACI No. 416. Amount of Caution Required in Transmitting Electric Power

Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2023 edition)

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416.Amount of Caution Required in Transmitting Electric Power
People and companies must be very careful in constructing, insulating,
inspecting, maintaining, and repairing power lines and transmission
equipment at all places where it is reasonably probable that they will
cause harm to persons or property.
New September 2003
Directions for Use
The cases have crafted a specific standard of care for the construction and
maintenance of power lines, and juries must be instructed on this standard upon
request. (Scally v. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (1972) 23 Cal.App.3d 806, 816 [100
Cal.Rptr. 501].)
Sources and Authority
• Electric power lines are considered dangerous instrumentalities. (Polk v. City of
Los Angeles (1945) 26 Cal.2d 519, 525 [159 P.2d 931].)
• The requirement to insulate wires applies to only those wires that may come into
contact with people or property: “While an electric company is not under an
absolute duty to insulate or make the wires safe in any particular manner, it does
have a duty to make the wires safe under all the exigencies created by the
surrounding circumstances. The duty of an electric company is alternative, i.e.,
either to insulate the wires or to so locate them to make them comparatively
harmless.” (Scally, supra, 23 Cal.App.3d at pp. 815-816.)
•Dunn v. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (1954) 43 Cal.2d 265, 272-274 [272 P.2d
745]; McKenzie v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (1962) 200 Cal.App.2d 731, 736
[19 Cal.Rptr. 628] (disapproved on another ground in Di Mare v. Cresci (1962)
58 Cal.2d 292, 299 [23 Cal.Rptr. 772, 373 P.2d 860].)
Secondary Sources
6 Witkin, Summary of California Law (11th ed. 2017) Torts, § 1051
California Tort Guide (Cont.Ed.Bar 3d ed.) §§ 7.1-7.12
23 California Forms of Pleading and Practice, Ch. 277, Gas and Electricity
(Matthew Bender)
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