Beam v. Tramco, Inc.

• Decision Date: 10 February 1995
• Citation: 655 So.2d 979
• Parties: Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 14,155 William H. BEAM, Jr. v. TRAMCO, INC. 1931541.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Page 979

655 So.2d 979

Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 14,155

William H. BEAM, Jr. v. TRAMCO, INC.

1931541.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

Feb. 10, 1995.

Gary L. Aldridge, Kevin J. Hawkins, Birmingham, for appellant.

Alfred F. Smith, Jr., Jeffrey R. McLaughlin and N. Lee Cooper of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C., Birmingham, for appellee.

INGRAM, Justice.

While working in a grain elevator as an employee of Continental Grain, Inc. ("Continental"), William H. Beam, Jr., was injured when he fell through an open catwalk and became caught in a grain conveyor manufactured by Tramco, Inc. Beam sued several co-employees; Alder Springs Industries (which had installed the Tramco conveyor); and Tramco. The trial court granted Tramco's motion for a summary judgment and made that judgment final pursuant to Rule 54(b), Ala.R.Civ.P. Beam appeals from the summary judgment for Tramco regarding his claims for damages under the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine ("AEMLD") and under theories of negligence and wantonness.

The law is clear that a summary judgment is proper and must be affirmed on appeal if the evidence, viewed in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party, shows that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Rule 56, Ala.R.Civ.P.; Lowe v. East End Memorial Hospital & Health Centers, 477 So.2d 339 (Ala.1985). Once a party moving for a summary judgment makes a prima facie showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is therefore entitled to a judgment as a matter of law, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to present substantial evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact. Rule 56; § 12-21-12, Ala.Code 1975; Hanners v. Balfour Guthrie, Inc., 564 So.2d 412 (Ala.1990). If the nonmovant fails to meet this burden, then a summary judgment must be entered in favor of the movant. Coggin v. Starke Bros. Realty Co., 391 So.2d 111 (Ala.1980).

Beam worked in Continental's grain elevator, which serves as a grain storage facility. Grain is kept in storage bins located inside the elevator, and the Tramco conveyor is used to remove the grain from the storage bins. Before his accident, Beam was asked by a supervisor to retrieve a sample of soybeans from a storage bin. Beam then began to walk on a catwalk, toward the storage bin; the Tramco conveyor was situated approximately three feet below the catwalk. An inlet spout extended upward from the Tramco conveyor to the catwalk. A removable grate was located on the catwalk at the point at which the inlet attached to the catwalk; the inlet and removable grate were used by Continental employees to unclog the conveyor. The grate had been removed and was not in place at the time of the accident. It is unknown why the grate had been removed or who had removed it. Beam's vision was obscured because of soybean dust emitted from the Tramco conveyor through the open inlet. When approaching the storage bin, Beam fell through the open area usually covered by the grate and into the spout attached to the Tramco conveyor. Beam was injured when his leg became caught in the Tramco conveyor.

The Tramco conveyor was purchased by Continental in 1989 to replace an older conveyor. The Tramco conveyor is an enclosed conveyor, which, unlike many older conveyors, has its moving parts encased by metal walls. In many respects, this makes the product safer and easier to maintain. Because the Tramco conveyor is an enclosed conveyor, inlet openings must be cut into its walls so that grain may enter it from the various storage bins. When the Tramco conveyor leaves its factory, however, there are no inlet openings in the conveyor. The openings are cut into the conveyor during installation.

The Tramco conveyor was installed by Alder Springs Industries in approximately the same location as Continental's previous conveyor. Tramco's only involvement in the installation was that Dan Warnke, a Tramco salesman, measured the conveyor area and took note of where the inlets would attach into the conveyor upon installation. Warnke was not present at the installation of the conveyor and was unaware that the catwalk grate was removable. The record indicates that even Ed McCoy, the Alder Springs Industries employee who cut the inlet openings into the conveyor and installed it, had no knowledge of the removable catwalk grate. The catwalk and the removable grate had been in place for many years before the installation of the Tramco conveyor.

In Atkins v. American Motors Corp., 335 So.2d 134 (Ala.1976), this Court set out the elements of the AEMLD. In order to establish liability under the AEMLD, a plaintiff must show the following:

"(1) [that] he suffered injury or...