Burns v. Cannondale Bicycle Co.
| Decision Date | 27 May 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 920708-CA,920708-CA |
| Citation | 876 P.2d 415 |
| Parties | Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 13,960 Brian BURNS, Plaintiff, Appellant, and Cross-Appellee, v. CANNONDALE BICYCLE COMPANY and The Bicycle Center, Defendants, Appellees, and Cross-Appellants. |
| Court | Utah Court of Appeals |
Edward T. Wells, Salt Lake City, for appellant.
Darwin C. Hansen, Randall D. Lund, and Gary B. Ferguson, Salt Lake City, for appellees.
Before DAVIS, JACKSON and ORME, JJ.
Plaintiff Brian Burns appeals the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants Cannondale Bicycle Company and The Bicycle Center on his products liability claim. Burns claims that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because there was a material issue of fact as to whether or not the brakes on his bicycle were defective. We affirm the trial court's judgment.
In July of 1986, plaintiff Burns purchased a Cannondale bicycle from The Bicycle Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. On August 16, 1986, Burns was riding the bicycle when the bike suddenly stopped, throwing Burns over the handle bars and thereby injuring him.
A few weeks after the accident, Burns asked his employee, Todd Bradford, to return the bicycle to The Bicycle Center for repairs and/or a determination of what had caused the bicycle to suddenly stop. Bradford testified in his deposition that when he delivered the bicycle to Phillip Blomquist, owner of The Bicycle Center, he told Blomquist that it was broken. As Bradford recollected, Blomquist said something like "Oh, yeah, it is, I'll take care of it." Bradford left the bike with Blomquist for whatever repair or adjustment needed to be made.
When The Bicycle Center had finished with the bike, Burns asked a friend, Bradley Peterson, to pick it up. Peterson testified in his deposition that when he picked up the bike, Blomquist told him "that there was a problem with the brake" and "that they had to replace something."
In contrast, while Blomquist admitted in his deposition that he received the bike for repair, he claimed that nothing was wrong with it and that no part was replaced. According to Blomquist, he "took the brake cable apart, suspecting that could have been [the] problem." He then "regreased the cable, put it back together." However, Blomquist stated that "[t]here were no problems at that time, there were no problems, really, when I took it apart."
While apparently not contemplating suit at the time he returned the bicycle to The Bicycle Center, Burns stated that he later changed his mind after seeing a television report on "that big P.I. attorney out of San Francisco," Melvin Belli. Accordingly, on August 16, 1989, exactly three years after the accident, Burns filed suit against Cannondale Bicycle Company and The Bicycle Center for breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, breach of certain express warranties, and products liability. He also asserted a claim against The Bicycle Center for negligent assembly. The parties participated in discovery from the time the complaint was filed until June 19, 1992, at which point discovery was cut off by the court.
Following Blomquist's deposition in April of 1990, Burns, Bradford, and Peterson all paid a visit to Blomquist at The Bicycle Center around the beginning of 1991. At that time, according to Burns's deposition, Blomquist stated that the accident was the bike's fault. According to Bradford's deposition, Blomquist stated that he would not have a problem telling his insurance company "that it probably could have been or was most probably the bike's malfunction" that caused the accident. Finally, Peterson stated that his "impression" from the conversation was that Blomquist "couldn't believe that things hadn't been resolved by this time, and that, you know, there was a clear-cut problem with the bicycle."
In his complaint, Burns alleged the accident was caused when "the brake spring for the front brakes of the bicycle popped off, causing the brakes to clamp down on the front tire of the bicycle." In an attempt to determine what effect a dislodged spring would have on the bicycle, Burns and Bradford consulted an expert, who, according to Bradford's deposition, stated that if the spring were to somehow release, it would actually have the opposite effect of that alleged by Burns. According to Burns's expert, the loss of the spring would cause the brake pads to release away from the tire rim rather than cause the brakes to engage. This opinion was corroborated by defendants' experts, who also testified, by affidavit, that such a malfunction of the brake would not cause the bike to stop suddenly.
Defendants subsequently moved for summary judgment, claiming that Burns, as a matter of law, could not prevail on his claims because he lacked evidence of a defect that could have caused the accident. Burns, admitting that he lacked such evidence, claimed that the existence of such a defect could be inferred by the fact finder. Alleging that defendants had disposed of the defective part, Burns argued that the doctrine of "spoliation of evidence" should establish the defect. Burns also claimed that Blomquist's statements constituted an admission of liability or at least created an issue of fact as to whether a causal defect existed. Rejecting Burns's arguments, the trial court granted summary judgment to defendants. The trial court concluded that Burns's inability to prove a specific defect and furnish evidence of causation made the issue of Blomquist's alleged admissions immaterial. It also concluded Burns had failed to establish a factual basis for his spoliation claim. Burns now appeals the trial court's summary judgment in favor of defendants. 1
At the outset we note that summary judgment is appropriate only where there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Utah R.Civ.P. 56(c); Higgins v. Salt Lake County, 855 P.2d at 233. "[I]n reviewing a grant of summary judgment, we view the facts and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Higgins v. Salt Lake County, 855 P.2d 231, 233 (Utah 1993). "Because summary judgment is granted as a matter of law, we review the trial court's legal conclusions for correctness, according them no deference." Hunsaker v. State, 870 P.2d 893, 896 (Utah 1993). Burns claims that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because there were material issues of fact as to whether a defect existed and whether such defect caused the accident resulting in his injuries.
In order to prevail on a claim for strict products liability, the plaintiff must meet a three-part test. The plaintiff must show "(1) that the product was unreasonably dangerous due to a defect or defective condition, (2) that the defect existed at the time the product was sold, and (3) that the defective condition was a cause of the plaintiff's injuries." Lamb v. B & B Amusements Corp., 869 P.2d 926, 929 (Utah 1993). See Utah Code Ann. § 78-15-6 (1992); Ernest W. Hahn, Inc. v. Armco Steel Co., 601 P.2d 152, 156 (Utah 1979).
Accordingly, it is not enough to simply show that the product failed. Brooks v. Colonial Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 579 So.2d 1328, 1332 (Ala.1991); Brothers v. General Motors Corp., 202 Mont. 477, 658 P.2d 1108, 1109 (1983). In Brooks, a case similar to the instant one, the plaintiffs brought an action for products liability and negligent repair as a result of injuries sustained when their car brakes failed. 579 So.2d at 1329. However, the plaintiffs failed to allege a specific defect in either the design or the repair of the braking system, let alone explain how that defect caused the brakes to fail. Id. at 1330. In affirming summary judgment for defendants, the manufacturer and a repair shop, the Alabama Supreme Court noted that "[t]he fact that someone was injured while using a product does not establish that the product was unreasonably dangerous when put to its intended use." Id. at 1332 (citations omitted). Rather, to meet their burden of proof, the plaintiffs must provide sufficient evidence raising " 'a reasonable inference from which the fact finder may rationally conclude that plaintiff[s'] injuries and damages proximately resulted from the product's failure of performance causally related to its defective condition.' " Id. (quoting Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Haven Hills Farm, Inc., 395 So.2d 991, 995 (Ala.1981)).
In sum, in order to defeat defendants' motion for summary judgment, Burns must provide some evidence that a defect existed at the time he bought the bicycle and that the defect caused his injury. It is not enough to merely contend that a defect existed, show that an accident occurred, and assume the two are necessarily related. 2
Burns admits that he cannot prove the existence of a defect. However, he claims the existence of a defect would properly be inferred if the factfinder determined The Bicycle Center disposed of a part while it had Burns's bike in for repair. Burns bases his claim on the doctrine of "spoliation of evidence," which holds that where a party to an action fails to provide or destroys evidence favorable to the opposing party, the court will infer the evidence's adverse content. See Nation-Wide Check Corp. v. Forest Hills Distribs., Inc., 692 F.2d 214, 217-18 (1st Cir.1982); National Ass'n of Radiation Survivors v. Turnage, 115 F.R.D. 543, 557-58 (N.D.Cal.1987). Under the spoliation doctrine, such an inference will be drawn "[w]here one party wrongfully denies another the evidence necessary to establish a fact in dispute." Turnage, 115 F.R.D. at 557. While Burns cites no authority demonstrating that Utah has adopted the spoliation doctrine, we conclude that it would not apply to the facts of this case in any event.
Burns alleges that a defect existed and that Blomquist discarded...
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