Eugene R. Poelstra and Joann Poelstra, Husband and Wife, Plaintiffs and Appellants v. Basin Electric Power…

Summary

The court affirmed a directed verdict for Basin Electric because the utility owed the Poelstras no duty to mark or warn about its overhead power lines. Duty was a legal question reviewed de novo, and the court held that the lines complied with applicable requirements, lacked a history of similar accidents, and did not create an unreasonable risk that Basin Electric could reasonably have anticipated. Because no duty existed, the court did not reach proximate cause, superseding cause, or the evidentiary issue concerning later warning signs.