You’ve seen the headlines.

“East Gripped by Heat Wave” … “Midwest Baking” … “Temperatures Torment Millions” … “South Is HOT.”

OK, I made the last one up. Heat in Dixie in July is not news. As my younger kids would say, “Duh!”

Anyhow, the current hot spell brought forth a question from a fellow columnist who is one of my favorite writers, but will go unnamed here. The writer asked, “If an auctioneer holds a sale in harmful weather with hazardous heat and people become ill or injured, is the auctioneer liable?”

This question stemmed from an auction that was due to be held in a metal building without air-conditioning. The temperature forecast was in excess of 100 and the concern was that people might “pass out from the high temps and strike their heads and perhaps file suit against the auction company for having unhealthy conditions.”

So what would be the reasons to cancel an auction for heat? Well, it might be unpleasant for people to be out in the heat and potentially risky to the health of some. Heat illness is real. Like the writer noted, someone could faint, fall, and be hurt.

I feel the need for a disclosure. I was born and raised in the South. It gets hot here. The temperature can be high and the humidity often matches it. The word “swelter” originated in my boyhood bedroom on a summer’s night when the only air moving came from an attic fan and “the window police” (i.e., my Daddy!) made it clear that, if my sash was raised higher than the permissible three inches (to equalize airflow through the house), it would be closed.
Down here, we call it “sticky heat,” because that is how you feel when you are out in it for awhile – sticky from your sweat which is sometimes so thick you could use it for motor oil. Consequently, we have another word for what is termed a heat wave elsewhere – summertime.

Southerners handle the heat now like we did when our houses, cars, and businesses had no air conditioning. We live with it. Many of us even like it. Having acknowledged all this, I hope my comments below are not seen as insensitive. I do not intend them to be, but I am also unmoved about not conducting an auction because it is hot in July.

Auctioneers are in business to do business. Business is commonly done under prevailing circumstances whatever they are, including the weather. Few businesses close because it is hot … or cold … or wet … or dry. When was the last time you saw a WalMart shuttered because it was hot outside?
“But, Steve,” you say, “WalMart is air-conditioned.”

So what? People have to travel in the heat to get there. Then they have to carry their purchases in the heat. There is always the chance that a car could break down on the way to the store or headed home and the occupants would be left along the road.

Have you ever been to DisneyWorld in Orlando in the summer? It is hot and humid. Our family has a few times and it was pretty uncomfortable, but everything was operating normally – just like it is today at every beach, amusement park, ball field, livestock market, car lot, open-air mall, and you name it. To borrow from an old entertainment axiom, “The business must go on.”

That is how I feel about auctions. I want to do business when there is an opportunity to do so. I do not want that chance be lost because conditions were less than ideal. The truth is conditions are never ideal. It is simply a matter of analyzing everything to find the thistle hiding amidst the clover. Here are a few current thorns. The economy stinks. The federal government is flirting with gridlock. Income is down. Costs are up. The price of gas is awful. Home foreclosures are burgeoning. Credit is tight. World events point to trouble. My kids want something. My wife went shopping.

The news is full of bad news. Nevertheless, today is a new day and a chance to do some new business and I am going to grab it before it fades. Like my Daddy told me years ago: “Son, the day you don’t work and get paid is a day lost for which you will never be paid.” With my wife and all of our kids, I work hard to avoid such days. 

 Let me close with three points to clarify my view.

First, we’re not illegal, I strongly believe in freedom to choose and whether and when to conduct business is an example. Here, that would mean an auctioneer is free to decide to hold an auction or not. Likewise, prospective bidders are free to choose to attend an auction or not.

Second, businesspeople who install air conditioning in their places of business do so to make the environment pleasant for clients and customers. Auctioneers have this choice. Those who do not do business in climate-controlled situations are subject to the outside elements and sometimes might need to make an accommodation. On a very hot day, this could entail renting an air-conditioned site, or erecting a tent with cooling fans, or delaying an auction’s start until the sun dips or, if necessary, postponing the event.

If it were me and the former options were not practical, I would do my best to find some shade and bring in all the water and other drinks folks might want, plus spice the event with watermelons to help keep them cool and entertained – almost anything but postponing the auction and losing the money to be earned.

Third, heat is hot and hot can be dangerous. Faced with a high temperature, an auctioneer would be well advised to make an opening announcement about conditions and advise people not to stay if they do not feel well and comfortable. Simultaneously, the auctioneer should point out cooler spots nearby, plus the presence of ice, drinks, and other refreshments. This announcement should be repeated several times during the event.

So might an auctioneer incur legal liability if an attendee falls ill from the heat? In my opinion, that chance is nil if the auctioneer has exercised reasonable judgment. An auctioneer should not invite a crowd into a building where the temperature is 110. However, if an auctioneer is working outside and the temperature is 100, it is going to be hot and anyone who chooses to attend the auction will feel the heat – the same as a person would on a beach or in a roller coaster under like conditions.

I am just warming up on this weather issue and have some more to say. I will do that next week. Until then, remember what we say Down South: “It’s not the heat – it’s the humidity – so stay out of the humidity.”

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Steve Proffitt may write to him in care of this publication.