Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. v. Martinez

• Decision Date: 04 October 1995
• Docket Number: No. 04-93-00526-CV,04-93-00526-CV
• Parties: UNIROYAL GOODRICH TIRE COMPANY, Appellant, v. Roberto O. MARTINEZ and Juanita Martinez, Individually and As Next Friends of Robert Martinez, Jr. and John Mathew Martinez, Minors, and Mary Willis, Appellees.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

Page 64

928 S.W.2d 64

UNIROYAL GOODRICH TIRE COMPANY, Appellant, v. Roberto O. MARTINEZ and Juanita Martinez, Individually and As Next Friends of Robert Martinez, Jr. and John

Mathew Martinez, Minors, and Mary

Willis, Appellees.

No. 04-93-00526-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas,

San Antonio.

Oct. 4, 1995.

Rehearing Overruled Nov. 1, 1995.

John B. Kyle, Dena L. Mathis, Jackson & Walker, L.L.P., Dallas, for Appellant.

Steve T. Hastings, Rose Rivera Vela, Allison & Huerta, Corpus Christi, for Appellee.

Before RICKHOFF, LOPEZ and GREEN, JJ.

OPINION

LOPEZ, Justice.

Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company (Goodrich) appeals a jury verdict for Roberto Martinez (Martinez) and his wife, Juanita Martinez, individually and as next friends of Robert, Jr. and John Martinez. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

Martinez suffered severe injuries on October 31, 1990 when he was struck by a 16"' Goodrich tire that exploded after he had mounted it on a 16.5"' rim during the course of his employment. Martinez brought suit against Goodrich as manufacturer of the tire, The Budd Company (Budd), manufacturer of the rim, and Ford Motor Company (Ford), who designed the specifications for the rim. Three theories were alleged in Martinez's petition: (1) strict products liability based on defective design, (2) negligence, and (3) gross negligence. Budd and Ford settled prior to trial. The jury found that (1) the design defect in the Goodrich tire was a producing cause of Martinez's injuries; (2) the rim was not defective as designed by either Ford or Budd; (3) Goodrich's negligence and gross negligence proximately caused Martinez's injuries; and (4) neither Martinez, Budd, nor Ford was negligent. The jury awarded Martinez and his family $5.5 million in actual damages plus $11.5 million in punitive damages. The punitive damages were reduced to one times the actual damages pursuant to a pretrial agreement between the parties. The trial court further reduced the total damages by $1.4 million in accordance with Goodrich's elected dollar for dollar settlement credit. The court also awarded prejudgment interest. Goodrich brings twenty-one points of error on appeal.

Several of Appellant's points of error challenge both the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence. In considering a "no evidence" or legal sufficiency point of error, we consider only the evidence favorable to the verdict and disregard all evidence and inferences to the contrary. Davis v. City of San Antonio, 752 S.W.2d 518, 522 (Tex.1988). When more than a scintilla of evidence supports the jury's finding, we are not at liberty to sustain a no evidence point. Kindred v. Con/Chem, Inc., 650 S.W.2d 61, 63 (Tex.1983). When considering a factual sufficiency point, however, we review all of the evidence and sustain the point of error only if the supporting evidence is so weak as to be clearly wrong and manifestly unjust. Cain v. Bain, 709 S.W.2d 175, 176 (Tex.1986).

1. Negligence

In its first point of error, Appellant contends that there was no evidence or insufficient evidence that Goodrich was negligent. Negligence consists of three essential elements: (1) a legal duty owed by one person to another; (2) breach of that duty; and (3) damages proximately resulting from that breach. El Chico Corp. v. Poole, 732 S.W.2d 306, 311 (Tex.1987). A manufacturer has a duty to exercise reasonable care in designing and manufacturing a product. Gonzales v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 571 S.W.2d 867, 871-72 (Tex.1978). To show that conduct caused an injury, the plaintiff must present evidence of cause in fact and foreseeability. El Chico Corp., 732 S.W.2d at 313.

On the issue of a duty, Mr. Milner, a metallurgical engineer, testified that Goodrich was unreasonable in not designing the tire to be more resistant to breaks. He noted that a stronger and more uniform bead had been available since the early 1970s. Mr. Milner also explained how the breaks occur in the multi-strand bead tire, the type involved in this case. Testimony of Mr. Milner indicated that the tire industry was well aware of the tire failure problems due to mismatching, when a 16"' tire was mounted on a 16.5"' rim, since at least the early 1970s. Frank Timmons, a representative for the Rubber Manufacturer's Association, testified about a presentation he made in Japan regarding the history of and problems with the 16.5"' wheel systems. Goodrich's prior Director of Industry Standards and Government Relations was in attendance at the meeting to help urge the Japanese manufacturers not to introduce a 15.5"' wheel system into the United States market because of the mismatching problems encountered with the 16.5"' wheels.

Stanley Lew, a tire engineer for Goodrich for twenty years, testified that the single strand bead, advocated by Mr. Milner, was not foolproof and would still be dangerous if the mismatched tire and rim were used on the road. Mr. Lew did agree, however, that the single strand bead had some advantages. Goodrich bought a new machine in 1990 to convert to the single strand bead in 1991.

In considering the causation issue, our review of the record revealed that several witnesses, including Goodrich's experts, testified that if the tire had been made with the stronger, single strand bead, the explosion may not have occurred under the air pressure being used at the time of the accident. There was conflicting evidence, however, on what pressure was in the tire at the time of the explosion.

Ray Regalado, an employee working with Martinez on the day of the accident, verified that the exploding tire was the cause of a serious head injury to Martinez. Testimony from several doctors and Martinez's family confirmed the damages incurred by Appellee from the injury.

In reviewing the above evidence, the fact that the use of an alternative design may have prevented the accident was sufficient to indicate a lack of reasonableness by Goodrich. There is also sufficient evidence to establish that the weak tire bead was the cause of the explosion and the resulting injury and damages. We hold, therefore, that the evidence is adequate to support the jury's finding of negligence, both legally and factually. Point of error one is overruled.

2. Design Defect

Appellant asserts, in its second point of error that there was either no evidence or insufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that the tire was defectively designed and that such design was a producing cause of Appellee's injuries.

Texas has recognized a strict liability cause of action for defective products, as set out in the Restatement Second of Torts § 402A, since 1967. McKisson v. Sales Affiliates, Inc., 416 S.W.2d 787, 789 (Tex.1967). The elements of proof for a defective product cause of action include:

(a) The product must be defective;

(b) The product must reach the consumer without substantial change from the time it leaves the possession and control of the manufacturer or seller;

(c) The defective condition of the product must render the product unreasonably dangerous;

(d) The unreasonably dangerous condition of the product must be the cause of the injury to the user.

RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 402A (1965). A product defect can be shown by either a manufacturing defect, a design defect, or a marketing defect. Temple EasTex, Inc. v. Old Orchard Creek Partners, Ltd., 848 S.W.2d 724, 732 (Tex.App.--Dallas 1992, writ denied). Appellant contends, in its brief, that Plaintiff's failure to obtain a finding that the warning was inadequate precludes recovery under a defective design theory. ¹ When an issue of defective design is alleged, however, the presence of a warning label is only one of many factors to be considered in determining the utility of a product. Temple EasTex, 848 S.W.2d at 724. The pleadings in this case alleged defective design, therefore a finding of the adequacy of the warning label was not required.

A product is defectively designed when it is unreasonably dangerous, taking into consideration the utility of the product and the risk involved in its use. Turner v. General Motors Corp., 584 S.W.2d 844, 847 n. 1 (Tex.1979); see also Acord v. General Motors Corp., 669 S.W.2d 111, 115-16 (Tex.1984). In a defective design case, both parties are to present evidence regarding several factors to consider in order to provide the trier of fact with appropriate balancing criteria. Turner, 584 S.W.2d at 849. Factors to consider that indicate a design defect include: (1) the availability of safer design alternatives, Boatland of Houston, Inc. v. Bailey, 609 S.W.2d 743, 746 (Tex.1980); (2) proof of similar accidents involving that same product, Magic Chef, Inc. v. Sibley, 546 S.W.2d 851, 855 (Tex.Civ.App.--San Antonio 1968, writ ref'd n.r.e.); (3) subsequent changes or modifications in design, TEX.R.CIV.EVID. 407(a); (4) evidence of out-of-court experiments, F.M.C. Corp. v. Burns, 444 S.W.2d 315, 322 (Tex.Civ.App.--San Antonio 1969, no writ), and (5) expert testimony claiming a design defect TEX.R.CIV.EVID. 702, 703, 704; General Electric Co. v. Schmal, 623 S.W.2d 482, 484-85 (Tex.App.--Texarkana 1981, writ ref'd n.r.e.). See Turner, 584 S.W.2d at 849.

Our review of the evidence in favor of the jury's finding of a defective design shows that there is legally sufficient evidence to support the finding. Mr. Milner testified for Appellee that an alternative design with a stronger bead had been available since at least 1972. Testimony was also given verifying Goodrich's answer to interrogatories admitting to thirty-four known lawsuits involving the same product. Mr. Milner also testified that other tire manufacturers had switched to the stronger, single strand bead much sooner than Goodrich, who changed their design in 1991. Documentary evidence was introduced showing an experiment conducted by Goodrich in 1976 with mismatched 16.0"' tires on 16.5"' rims. This document verified that the tires could explode at 73 pounds per square inch of air pressure (P...