Vizzini v. Ford Motor Co.

Citation569 F.2d 754
Decision Date16 December 1977
Docket NumberNo. 76-2529,76-2529
PartiesMary VIZZINI, Administratrix of the Estate of Salvatore Vizzini, Deceased, v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY c/o C. T. Corp. System, Appellant.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit)

Joseph V. Pinto, James J. Donohue, Philadelphia, Pa., Edward T. O'Donnell, Dearborn, Mich., for Ford Motor Co., appellant; White and Williams, Philadelphia, Pa., of counsel.

Oscar S. Schermer, Philip A. Liss, Philadelphia, Pa., for appellee, Mary Vizzini, Administratrix of the Estate of Salvatore Vizzini, deceased.

Before SEITZ, Chief Judge, and GIBBONS and WEIS, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

SEITZ, Chief Judge.

Defendant ("Ford") in this diversity action under Pennsylvania's Wrongful Death and Survival Statutes appeals a judgment based on a jury's verdict in plaintiff's favor. Vizzini v. Ford Motor Co., 72 F.R.D. 132 (E.D.Pa.1976).

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Salvatore Vizzini (Vizzini), late husband of plaintiff, died in a one-vehicle accident at approximately 12:30 p. m. on Saturday, September 1, 1972. Vizzini was killed on impact when his 1972 Ford F-100 pickup truck skidded through the "T"-type intersection of two rural roads near his vacation home in Seabreeze, New Jersey, and struck a tree. The skid marks on the macadam road were measured at 363 feet in length, and were in a nearly straight line. The marks were left by the tires on only one set of wheels. The marks were almost entirely on the wrong side of the road. When Vizzini was found, he was protruding from the waist up out of the driver's side door window. Although the truck was equipped with lap-type safety belts, when found, Vizzini was not wearing a safety belt.

Vizzini had worked at his job as a trouble-shooter for the Philadelphia Electric Co. the entire day and night preceding the accident, i. e., from 8:00 a. m. Friday, August 31, straight through until 8:00 a. m. Saturday, September 1. His son then drove him from his suburban Philadelphia home to Seabreeze, New Jersey, where the family had a vacation cottage. During the 28 or so hours preceding his death Vizzini only had short naps which were taken during the drive to Seabreeze, a trip that took approximately 21/4 hours.

Vizzini remained at this vacation home for about 11/2 hours before he left on his fatal ride. During that time he drank three bottles of beer. The autopsy revealed a blood alcohol concentration of .168, in excess of the percentage required for a presumption of intoxication under both Pennsylvania and New Jersey law. After drinking the beer, Vizzini left the cottage driving the F-100 pickup, and shortly thereafter was involved in the accident in which he died. There was no witness. The day of the accident was sunny, dry, and clear, and the road was free of hazards and obstructions.

Vizzini's wife, administratrix of his estate, then brought this action against Ford. Her complaint alleged negligence in the manufacture of the truck or, in the alternative, that the truck was defective and unreasonably dangerous under a strict liability theory. She based her claim upon a defect in the left front brake assembly that was discovered during post-accident inspections of the truck. She alleged that a self-adjuster cable in that brake assembly was negligently or defectively assembled in that it was not properly connected. As a result, she claimed, the left front brake shoe was unable to expand to compensate for wear, resulting eventually in failure of the brake which in turn caused the accident. Plaintiff also alleged that there was leakage of brake fluid from the master cylinder, and that such leakage contributed to the failure of the truck's brake. She asserted that the failure of the left front brake of her husband's truck was the proximate cause of her husband's death.

The case first was tried to a jury on the issue of liability. Plaintiff's expert gave his opinion that the accident had been caused by the failure of the truck's front brakes. Her experts further testified that The jury's special verdict was in the form of answers to six interrogatories. The jury found Ford to have been negligent in the manufacture of the truck, and that such negligence was a proximate cause of the accident. It found Vizzini to have been negligent as well, and that his negligence was also a proximate cause of the accident. And it found that the truck was defective to the point of being unreasonably dangerous, and that such defect was a proximate cause of the accident.

such failure was caused by a defectively manufactured self-adjuster system, aggravated by the defective master cylinder. Ford's experts testified that the alleged defects could not have caused the accident, and Ford argued that the sole proximate cause of the accident was the negligence of Vizzini himself.

A trial on the issue of damages was then held before the same jury. After hearing extensive evidence on plaintiff's damages claim, and after two full days of deliberation, the jury was unable to agree on damages. In a note to the court the jury explained that one juror was unable to agree with the others on a damage figure. The note indicated that the one holdout juror had compromised his or her earlier vote on liability in order to achieve unanimity on the first verdict, but had done so in the belief that the liability verdict as rendered would result in a "draw" with no damages assessed against either party. Accordingly, that juror was unable to agree with the others on the amount to be awarded plaintiff.

After ascertaining that the deadlock was indeed insoluble, the court declared a mistrial. It denied Ford's motions for judgment n. o. v. and for a new trial on liability as well as damages, and ordered a new trial limited to the issue of damages under the strict liability claim.

At that second trial on damages, plaintiff produced testimony, inter alia, concerning the deceased's income, expenses and employment history. Plaintiff also put an economist on the stand who testified that an employee in Vizzini's position at the time of his death could have expected to receive yearly pay increases of 3% Per year, a figure the economist based on projected increases in national productivity. An actuary testified for plaintiff to the value of the various fringe benefits Vizzini was receiving as part of his compensation package, to his life expectancy, and to the value of his services as a husband and father. The actuary computed the present value of Vizzini's total lost future earnings using a 6% Simple interest factor.

Ford objected to various aspects of plaintiff's evidence on damages. In addition, Ford's offer of proof concerning non-usage of safety belts by Vizzini was rejected by the court. The court also denied Ford's request that it be allowed to demonstrate the impact of taxes on Vizzini's future earnings. Ford presented no further evidence in rebuttal. The jury awarded plaintiff $421,000.00 under the Pennsylvania Survival Act, and $52,298.00 under the Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Act.

II. FORD'S MOTION FOR JUDGMENT NON OBSTANTE VEREDICTO

Ford on appeal seeks a reversal of the district court's refusal to grant its j.n.o.v. motion. The motion was based on the ground that the plaintiff failed to introduce adequate evidence that the allegedly defective self-adjuster cable caused Vizzini's accident. The trial judge also had denied Ford's earlier motion for a directed verdict. Though he characterized plaintiff's causation evidence as "very thin," 72 F.R.D. at 135, the trial judge did believe that sufficient evidence had been introduced to warrant submission of the question of causation to the jury.

Before deciding the merits of Ford's j.n.o.v. motion, we first must determine what standards are to guide this court in gauging the sufficiency of the evidence. The federal courts, as well as the commentators, have split over whether federal or state standards should control such determinations in diversity cases, see 9 C. Wright & A. Miller In Neville Chemical Co. v. Union Carbide Corp., 422 F.2d 1205 (3d Cir. 1970), this court characterized the standard by which j.n.o.v. motions are evaluated under federal law as requiring "that we 'determine whether, as a matter of law, the record is critically deficient of that minimum quantum of evidence from which a jury might reasonably afford relief.' " 422 F.2d at 1211-12, (footnote omitted), quoting Denneny v. Siegel, 407 F.2d 433, 439 (3d Cir. 1969). The court in Neville also stated the Pennsylvania standard:

Federal Practice & Procedure § 2525 (1971). This circuit, however, in cases applying Pennsylvania law, has found there to be "no difference in the standard followed in Pennsylvania courts and in the federal courts" on the question of "the quantum of evidence necessary to establish a jury question on the issue of causation." Kridler v. Ford Motor Co., 422 F.2d 1182, 1183-84 & 1183 (3d Cir. 1970). This court, therefore, when applying Pennsylvania law, has proceeded without distinguishing between the federal and Pennsylvania approaches. See Neville Chemical Co. v. Union Carbide Corp., 422 F.2d 1205, 1211-12 (3d Cir. 1970).

The Pennsylvania test, as stated in Smith v. Bell Telephone Co. of Pa., 397 Pa. 134, 153 A.2d 477 (1959) was summarized in Denneny as requiring "the trial judge (to) determine as a minimum requirement of a prima facie case whether the plaintiff has produced 'substantial evidence' of 'sufficient facts' having the capacity of supporting a logical conclusion." (footnotes omitted)

Neville Chemical Co. v. Union Carbide Corp., supra, 422 F.2d 1205, 1211, quoting Denneny v. Siegel, 407 F.2d 433, 440.

Our task, then, in evaluating Ford's motion for judgment n.o.v. is the same whether Pennsylvania or federal standards are applied. And since plaintiff has the benefit of the jury's verdict in her favor, in reviewing the district court's denial of Ford's motions "we must consider the evidence in the light...

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