Burke v. Deere & Co.

• Decision Date: 04 December 1991
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 86-66-W.
• Citation: 780 F. Supp. 1225
• Parties: Clair BURKE, Plaintiff, v. DEERE & COMPANY, a/k/a John Deere Company, a Delaware Corporation, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Iowa

780 F. Supp. 1225

Clair BURKE, Plaintiff, v. DEERE & COMPANY, a/k/a John Deere Company, a Delaware Corporation, Defendants.

Civ. No. 86-66-W.

United States District Court, S.D. Iowa, W.D.

December 4, 1991.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Jack B. Sellers, Jack B. Sellers Law Associates, Inc., Sapulpa, Okl., Randall Shanks, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Craig Kelinson, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Des Moines, Iowa, for plaintiff.

Philip Willson, Joseph Thornton, Smith, Peterson, Beckman & Willson, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Tim J. Harrington, Deere & Company, Moline, Ill., Richard J. Sapp, W. Don Brittin, Jr., Nyemaster, Goode, McLaughlin, Voigts, West, Hansell & O'Brien, Des Moines, Iowa, for defendants.

ORDER

DONALD E. O'BRIEN, Chief Judge.

Defendant Deere & Company's (Deere) motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (jnov) and, in the alternative, motion for a new trial, bring this matter before the court. After careful consideration of the written and oral arguments of the parties, as well as extensive review of the transcript, trial notes, and exhaustive independent research, the court denies the motions. The court does however, find the award of $50,000,000 in punitive damages to be excessive and that the award should be remitted to $28,000,000.

FACTS

This products liability action was tried to a jury during a two-week period in November, 1990 and concluded in a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff for $650,000 for actual damages. In doing so the jury found the plaintiff to be 40% at fault for his injuries and defendant Deere & Co. 60% at fault. This resulted in a net recovery for the plaintiff of $390,000. Special Interrogatories were submitted to the jury on the issue of awarding punitive damages. The jury found that Deere's conduct constituted willful and wanton disregard for the rights or safety of another and awarded punitive damages in the amount of $50,000,000. An additional special interrogatory was submitted to the jury pursuant to Iowa Code § 668A which asked if the conduct of Deere & Co. was directed specifically at Clair Burke. The jury answered that it was not. Following the trial Deere filed these motions for a new trial and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.¹

This is the second case this court has had before it involving the John Deere Titan series combine. The first case of Christopherson v. Deere, Civil No. 86-67-W, 1990 WL 324300 (S.D.Iowa), was tried to a jury during a two-week period in the month of August, 1989. The Christopherson case was tried by the same plaintiff's and defendant's counsel. That matter concluded in a plaintiff's verdict which has subsequently been affirmed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Christopherson v. Deere, 941 F.2d 692 (8th Cir.1991).

In the Christopherson case, as in the case at hand, the parties before trial entered into an extensive stipulation of undisputed facts.² The court finds a recitation of this stipulation most useful when reviewing the motions now before the court, and now sets out portions of said stipulation.³

Commencing in October of 1978, Deere & Company introduced into the market its Titan Series Combines designed with a closed unloading system which functioned, basically, as follows:

Two cross augers in the bottom of the grain tank would push the grain into a sump, with an angled floor, whereby the grain would flow down to a vertical auger which would carry the grain straight up, to a horizontal auger which would, in turn, convey the crop out to a waiting storage cart or truck. At the base of the vertical auger, there was a clean-out door approximately 5 inches by 6 inches in size which was accessible from the ground for use in cleaning the grain residue out of the grain tank sump and vertical unloading auger. When seated in the operator's seat in the combine cab, the operator cannot see the lower clean-out door for the vertical auger.

This configuration was substantially different from Deere's old series, the New Generation combines, which had no vertical auger or sump, nor a horizontal auger. The New Generation combines had a discharge auger which attached at the bottom left center of the grain tank. When in position for discharge, it angled out and up at an approximate 45-degree angle. The angled discharge auger was hinged where it attached to the grain tank and when folded back against the side of the combine for transport, the circular hole, where grain feeds from the tank into this auger, was exposed, also exposing one of the cross augers in the tank.

In August of 1979, Deere & Company was notified that an individual had suffered a hand injury while in the process of attempting to clean out a clogged vertical unloading auger at the lower clean-out door. In this instance, the individual reportedly had left the power to the auger engaged, but due to crop residue which had hardened in the vertical unloading auger, the auger was not turning. Upon cleaning of a portion of the crop residue, the auger began to turn slowly, resulting in injury to the individual's hand.

The factory which produced all of the Titan combines was Deere & Company's John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline, Illinois. There was at the John Deere Harvester Works a Product Safety Committee whose function, among other things, was and is to review accidents reported to the company involving equipment manufactured at the John Deere Harvester Works, including combines. The Product Safety Committee consists of employees of Deere & Company, including, but not limited to, the Product Safety Coordinator, the Factory Service Manager, the Division Engineer, New Combine Design, the Supervisor of Service Publications and Technical Writings, the Manager of Test and Evaluation Engineering and the Manager of Product Reliability, or their alternates.

The Safety Committee reviewed the information relating to the accident it had been notified of in September of 1979. The committee recommended that the Operator's Manual for Titan Combines be reviewed, as well as the caution decal mounted on the side of the combine, approximately 3 feet to the rear of the lower clean-out door of the vertical auger.

On February 29, 1980, Deere & Company was notified of an accident involving David Johnson. It was reported that Mr. Johnson was removing crop residue from the vertical auger shaft at the lower clean-out door when his brother, who was in the operator's cab, started the unloading auger, resulting in the amputation of Mr. Johnson's left arm. This accident was discussed at the Product Safety Committee meeting on April 2, 1980 and the committee recommended that the Design Division review the design for a possible way to minimize the hazard and that a decal be adopted to be placed above the clean-out door as an interim measure.

On September 26, 1980, Deere was notified that a Mr. Mitchell suffered an injury to his right arm while cleaning crop residue from the grain tank sump of a Titan Combine when another person turned on the vertical auger while Mr. Mitchell had his hand in the lower clean-out door for the vertical auger.

On November 5, 1980, the Product Safety Committee approved a warning decal to be placed above the lower clean-out door of the vertical auger. The decal was to be placed on machines being manufactured beginning in January of 1981.

On December 11, 1980, Deere & Company was notified of an accident involving Mr. Roger Herring. It was reported to Deere that Mr. Herring had been involved in cleaning out crop residue from the grain tank sump and vertical auger at the lower clean-out door of the vertical auger. He reportedly had his hand through the lower clean-out door when another person engaged the vertical auger, causing an injury to Mr. Herring's right hand and arm.

On January 5, 1981, a new warning decal was made standard equipment and placed on all combines produced after that date, above the lower clean-out door of the vertical auger.

On January 14, 1981, the Product Safety Committee at the John Deere Harvester Works agreed that the new decal should be mailed to all customers who had purchased a Titan Series Combine prior to January 5, 1981. On February 25, 1981 the Product Safety Committee observed a proposed design change in the lower clean-out door of the vertical unloading auger. This proposed change consisted of a clean-out door located in the floor of the grain tank sump, forward of the vertical auger. The clean-out door at the rear of the vertical auger tube was closed down to approximately one inch high. The committee agreed that the proposed design should be tested.

In March of 1981 the new decal was adopted as Modification Program No. H104. On Approximately April 12, 1981 the new warning decal and a letter accompanying it were sent to all customers who had purchased Titan Series Combines prior to January 1981, as well as to all dealers who had combines purchased for their inventory on their lots.

On July 9, 1981, it was reported to Deere & Company that on or about June 18, 1981, Mr. Leon Karst had suffered a hand injury in the course of cleaning out the grain tank sump through the lower clean-out door of the vertical unloading auger. It was reported that someone else had engaged the vertical unloading auger drive while Mr. Karst's hand was inserted through the door, into the vertical auger and sump area.

On October 8, 1981, the proposed design change first presented to the Product Safety Committee in February of 1981 was approved for production, with the addition of a trimming of the auger flighting on the vertical auger at the lower end. This change (Deere Engineering Decision # 89031H) was to occur on the production line effective March 1, 1982. Since, with the new design, there would be two clean-out doors, the narrow door at the rear of auger tube and the large door in the floor of sump leading to the vertical unloading auger, the decal issued in January of 1981 was changed to...