Arneauld v. Pentair, Inc.
| Decision Date | 26 November 2012 |
| Docket Number | CV-11-3891 (SJF)(ETB) |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
| Parties | KENNETH ARNEAULD and LEZLIE ARNEAULD, Plaintiffs, v. PENTAIR, INC. and INTERNATIONAL TOOLS CORP., Defendants. |
On June 27, 2011, plaintiffs Kenneth Arneauld and Lezlie Arneauld (collectively, "plaintiffs") commenced this products liability action against defendants Pentair, Inc. ("Pentair") and International Tool Corp. ("International Tool"), i/s/h International Tools Corp.,1 in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Nassau. On August 12, 2011, Pentair removed the action to this Court on the basis of this Court's diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). Pentair and International Tool (collectively, "defendants") now move for summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs' complaint in its entirety pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons set forth below, defendants' motions are granted.
Plaintiffs are citizens of the State of New York. (International Tool's Rule 56.1 Statement ["56.1 Stat."], ¶ 1). Plaintiffs allege, inter alia, that on June 27, 2008, Kenneth Arneauld ("Arneauld") was injured during the course of his employment with All Island Mica Designs, Inc. ("All Island"), d/b/a All Island Solid Surface Fabricators, when a Delta Unisaw sold, manufactured, distributed, designed, assembled, created, tested, inspected, produced, marketed, imported and/or delivered by defendants malfunctioned, failed and/or jammed. (Compl., ¶¶ 8-12. 19). Plaintiffs further allege that the Delta Unisaw was defective insofar as it "was without any guards, warnings or anti-kick back device." (Compl., ¶ 31). In plaintiffs' response to International Tool's Request for Production of Documents, plaintiffs, inter alia, denied being in possession of any documents pertaining to the subject Delta Unisaw. (Affidavit of Alice Spitz in Support of International Tool's Motion for Summary Judgment ["Spitz Aff."], Ex. H). In plaintiffs' response to International Tool's Interrogatories Set One, plaintiffs indicate, inter alia: (1) that they are not in possession of information regarding the date on which the subject Delta Unisaw was purchased, from whom it was purchased, whether it was new or used when purchased or whether there were any warranties with regard thereto; (2) that the subject Delta Unisaw was model number 36-920 and had serial number 122-04-10902002-WF2; (3) that they did not know of any alterations, additions or modifications to the subject Delta Unisaw subsequent to its leaving its place of manufacture; (4) that Arneauld was cutting a backslashwhile standing at the time of the accident; (5) that the design of the subject Delta Unisaw was defective because it failed (a) to include a guard and/or "saw stop" technology and (b) to design a brake, "kill" or "deadman" switch for moving parts, or any other safety device onto the machine; (6) that plaintiffs cannot specify the part or component of the subject Delta Unisaw that is defective; and (7) that plaintiffs were unaware of any express warranty given by Pentair. (Spitz Aff., Ex. I).
In his report, plaintiffs' expert witness, Leslie N. Wilder ("Wilder"), indicates, inter alia: (1) that Arneauld was injured while using a table saw to cross-cut a piece of wood stock when a kickback occurred, causing his right hand to come into contact with the spinning blade, lacerating his index finger and amputating his last three (3) fingers, which were subsequently reattached; (2) that the subject Delta Unisaw was "likely" a Delta Model 36-920, manufactured on or about March of 1999; (3) that the Delta Unisaw's controls included stop and start pushbuttons, the ability to adjust the elevation of the blade and the ability to tilt the blade to varying degrees; (4) that an adjustable fence was mounted to the machine and table and a miter gauge was available and stored on the right side of the worktable; (5) that a Delta blade guard assembly that incorporated a splitter, anti-kickback pawls and a clear plastic blade cover or hood was mounted to the saw; (6) that Arneauld had been using the fence as a length guide and was "free-handedly" pushing the strip of wood across the blade when the kickback occurred; (7) that three (3) protective devices are typically used on table saws, i.e., the blade guard, the splitter or spreader and the anti-kickback device, and that those devices were combined into a single guarding assembly attached to the subject Delta Unisaw when Wilder inspected it, although Arneauld had told him that the guarding assembly had not been attached at any time prior to, orat the time of, his accident and photographs taken by Arneauld's daughter one (1) week after the accident depict the saw without the guarding assembly and the table upon which it was mounted without the cutout necessary for its mounting with the guarding assembly; (8) that the blade of the subject Delta Unisaw should have been guarded and that had the guard been in place, it likely would have prevented Arneauld's injury; (9) that complying with the warning on the subject Delta Unisaw to "Always use the blade guard and splitter for every operation for which it can be used, including all thru-sawing" is neither simple nor convenient because the splitter must be removed for non-through cuts and removal and reinstallation of the guard requires the use of wrenches and, therefore, the manufacturer should have implemented a guard at least as effective as the splitter, but which would not tend to be removed and not replaced; (10) that the subject Delta Unisaw should have been designed for use with a riving knife guard instead of a splitter; (11) that the lack of a guard less likely to be removed and not replaced makes the design of the subject Delta Unisaw defective and unreasonably dangerous; (12) that the warning label on the subject Delta Unisaw was not easily seen or read from a user's normal position because it was mounted to the front of the cabinet housing which was recessed under the tabletop approximately thirteen inches (13") above the floor, and the thirteen (13) warnings fit into an area that is only approximately ten to eleven percent (10-11%) of the label's total area; and (13) that the safety of the subject Delta Unisaw could also have been improved by incorporating a sound and/or light warning and a disabling interlock meant to prevent the machine from operating without the guards in place. (Spitz Aff., Ex. K).
International Tool is a Florida corporation with its principal place of business in Florida, (56.1 Stat., ¶ 2; Affidavit of Barry Barnett ["Barnett Aff."], ¶ 4), and is a seller/distributor ofindustrial power tools in the United States via direct sales and internet sales for various manufacturers. (56.1 Stat., ¶ 7; Barnett Aff., ¶ 5). According to Barry Barnett ("Barnett"), the vice president of International Tool: (1) International Tool does not design or manufacture any of the power tools that it sells, nor does it service the products of the power tool manufacturers that it sells, including the subject Delta Unisaw, (Barnett Aff., ¶ 6); (2) International Tool only sells products that are new, it does not sell used equipment or tools, (id.); and (3) his review of International Tool's past sales records "did not turn up any records involving any sales at any time prior to the date of [Arneauld's] incident to All Island * * * or directly to [the principals of All Island] for the subject saw under either model number [provided to him]," (Barnett Aff., ¶ 9). In its disclosure pursuant to Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("Rule 26 disclosure"), International Tool: (1) denied (a) being in possession of any documents relating to this action or the subject Delta Unisaw or (b) selling the subject Delta Unisaw; and (2) provided photographs of the Delta Unisaw indicating, inter alia, (a) that it was manufactured by Delta International Machinery Corp., (b) that it was model number 34-806 and had serial number 97 L 93804, (c) that it was a ten inch (10") right tilting arbor saw, and (d) that there were thirteen (13) warnings affixed thereto, including (i) "Always use blade guard and splitter for every operation, for which it can be used, including all thru-sawing," (ii) "Keep hands out of path of saw blade," (iii) and (iv) "Know how to avoid risk of kickback." (Spitz Aff., Ex. F).
Pentair is a Minnesota corporation with its principal place of business in Minnesota. (56.1 Stat., ¶ 3; Affidavit of Allan Crider ["Crider Aff."], ¶ 3). According to Allan Crider ("Crider"), associate general counsel-litigation for Pentair, (Crider Aff., ¶ 2), Pentair is a holdingcompany that directly and indirectly holds the stock of several other companies; does not manufacture or distribute products in the State of New York; performs no services in the State of New York; does not design, manufacture or sell Delta Unisaws; and did not design, manufacture or sell the subject Delta Unisaw. (Crider Aff., ¶¶ 4-6).
On June 4, 2012, Pentair conducted an inspection of the subject Delta Unisaw at All Island, as a result of which it was determined that the product was a Delta Unisaw Model 34-806 manufactured in December 1997, not a Delta Unisaw Model 36-920 manufactured in March 1999, as assumed by plaintiffs' expert. (Affidavit of Robert A. Faller in Support of Pentair's Motion for Summary Judgment ["Faller Aff."], Ex. D). According to Pentair, the subject Delta Unisaw was manufactured by Delta International Machinery Corp. ("DIMC"), a valid, ongoing corporate entity which is a subsidiary of Black & Decker Inc., which is a subsidiary of The Black & Decker Corporation, which is a subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (Faller Aff., Ex. D).
Andrew Spinaris ("Spinaris") is the vice president of All Island and ...
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