Merrill v. Central Maine Power Co.
Maine Supreme Judicial Court
628 A.2d 1062 (1993)
Douglas Merrill (plaintiff), age 9, trespassed onto Central Maine Power Company's (CMP) (defendant) property to fish, then climbed the fence around CMP's electrical substation and tried to cook a caught eel by placing it on a live electrical wire. Merrill was shocked and severely burned, and sued CMP under the attractive-nuisance doctrine. In his deposition, Merrill admitted he knew the fence was meant to keep people out, that electricity could burn and hurt him, that he was careful not to touch the wire himself, and that what he did was a dumb idea. The trial court granted summary judgment for CMP, finding Merrill knew and appreciated the risk and that a substation isn't an attractive nuisance in the first place.
Whether a defendant will be liable to a plaintiff child under the doctrine of attractive nuisance if the trespassing child is aware of the dangerous condition, understands the risk, is in a position to avoid it, but voluntarily proceeds and is injured.