Campbell Hausfeld/Scott Fetzer Co. v. Johnson

• Court: Indiana Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: David, Justice.
• Citation: Campbell Hausfeld/Scott Fetzer Co. v. Johnson, 109 N.E.3d 953 (Ind. 2018)
• Decision Date: 01 November 2018
• Docket Number: Supreme Court Case No. 18S-CT-548
• Parties: CAMPBELL HAUSFELD/SCOTT FETZER COMPANY, Appellant (Defendant below) v. Paul JOHNSON, Appellee (Plaintiff below)

109 N.E.3d 953

CAMPBELL HAUSFELD/SCOTT FETZER COMPANY, Appellant (Defendant below)

v.Paul JOHNSON, Appellee (Plaintiff below)

Supreme Court Case No. 18S-CT-548

Supreme Court of Indiana.

Argued: June 7, 2018

Filed November 1, 2018

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: Peter J. Rusthoven, J. Curtis Greene, Mark J. Crandley, Meredith Thornburgh White, J.T. Larson, BARNES & THORNBURG LLP, Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR AMICUS CURIAE, DEFENSE TRIAL COUNSEL OF INDIANA: Julia Blackwell Gelinas, Robert B. Thornburg, Maggie L. Smith, FROST BROWN TODD LLC, Indianapolis, Indiana, Lucy R. Dollens, QUARLES & BRADY, LLP, Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEY FOR AMICUS CURIAE, THE INDIANA LEGAL FOUNDATION: Anne Cowgur, TAFT STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP, Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: Theodore L. Stacy, Valparaiso, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR AMICUS CURIAE, INDIANA TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION: Nicholas C. Deets, Frederick R. Hovde, HOVDE DASSOW & DEETS LLC, Indianapolis, Indiana

On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 64A03-1705-CT-984

David, Justice.

Plaintiff was seriously injured after using a tool designed by the manufacturer. He alleges the tool was defective in its design and that the manufacturer failed to provide adequate warnings. The manufacturer argues, among other things, that plaintiff misused the tool by failing to follow its directions. Today we address whether such misuse serves as a complete defense for the manufacturer. We find that it does. Under the facts and circumstances of this case, plaintiff's misuse is the cause of his injuries and could not have been reasonably expected by the manufacturer. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court.

Facts and Procedural History

Campbell Hausfeld/Scott Fetzer Co. designs power tools that it sells to consumers through retailers in the United States. It designed a mini air die grinder, the TL1120 ("the Grinder"). The Grinder is an approximately eight-inch, hand-held, air-powered tool intended for grinding, polishing, deburring, and smoothing sharp surfaces. It comes in a box with wrenches to loosen the metal receiver at the end and to add and remove different attachments. It does not include a safety guard and such a guard would prevent use in tight areas and obscure a user's view.

The Grinder comes with various warnings and instructions. For instance, the instruction manual states "[r]ead carefully," "[p]rotect yourself ... by observing all safety information," that "[f]ailure to comply with instructions could result in personal injury," and to "read all manuals included with this product carefully." (Appellant's App. Vol. 2 at 224.) The instructions further state that the user should retain the instructions for future reference.

The instructions contain a warning that "[s]afety glasses and ear protection must be worn during operation." (Id.) Further, the instructions tell the user to not use a cut-off disc mandrel on the Grinder unless a safety guard is in place.

On the packaging it is stated in two places that the Grinder "[p]roduces 25,000 RPM" (Appellant's App. Vol. 3 at 34.) The user is warned to use only attachments rated for a minimum of 25,000 RPM.

Plaintiff, Paul Johnson, purchased the Grinder and read its instructions. He decided to use the Grinder to help a friend do some work on that friend's truck headlights. That is, they planned to cut around the truck's headlight opening to accommodate larger headlights. Johnson took the Grinder and attached a cut-off disc to it using a mandrel. Johnson's friend expressed concern about him using the cut-off disc, which was rated lower than 25,000 RPM, but Johnson used the cut-off disc anyway.

Johnson wore his prescription glasses as he cut around the headlights with the Grinder. He believed these glasses were sufficient to serve as safety glasses. While using the Grinder, the cut-off disc came apart and a piece struck him in the left side of his face, breaking his eyeglasses and causing serious injuries to his cheek and eye. Johnson ultimately lost his left eye.

Johnson sued Campbell Hausfeld for damages asserting failure to warn and defective design claims under the Indiana Products Liability Act. Thereafter, Campbell Hausfeld filed a motion for summary judgment wherein it argued, among other things, that the designated evidence established each of the three defenses provided by the Act: misuse, alteration and incurred risk, and that further, no reasonable jury could find Johnson less than 51% at fault for his injuries.

The trial court found that Johnson misused the Grinder by failing to use safety glasses and that he was at least 51% responsible for his injuries. It granted summary judgment in favor of Campbell Hausfeld on the defective design claim but denied summary judgment with respect to the failure to warn claim. Campbell Hausfeld moved to certify the order for interlocutory appeal. The Court of Appeals affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded finding that Campbell Hausfeld's motion for summary judgment should have been denied in its entirety.

Standard of Review

When reviewing a summary judgment order, we stand in the shoes of the trial court. Matter of Supervised Estate of Kent, 99 N.E.3d 634, 637 (Ind. 2018) (citation omitted). Summary judgment is appropriate "if the designated evidentiary matter shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Ind. Trial Rule 56(C).

Discussion and Decision

Under the Indiana Products Liability Act (IPLA), a plaintiff must prove that a product was placed into the stream of commerce in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user and that plaintiff's injuries were caused by this dangerous product. Ind. Code § 34-20-2-1. A product can be defective within the meaning of the Act because of a manufacturing flaw, a defective design or a failure to warn of dangers while using the product. Baker v. Heye-Am. , 799 N.E.2d 1135, 1140 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003).

[I]n an action based on an alleged design defect in the product or based on an alleged failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions regarding the use of the product, the party making the claim must establish that the manufacturer or seller failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances in designing the product or in providing the warnings or instructions.

Ind. Code § 34-20-2-2.

The IPLA provides three non-exclusive defenses to a products liability action: incurred risk ( Ind. Code § 34-20-6-3 ); misuse of the product ( Ind. Code § 34-20-6-4 ); and modification or alteration of the product ( Ind. Code § 34-20-6-5 ). Additionally, comparative fault principles apply in products liability cases. ( Ind. Code § 34-20-8-1 ). That is, the fault of the person harmed as well as the fault of all others who caused or contributed to the harm shall be compared by the trier of fact in accord with the comparative fault statutes. Ind. Code § 34-20-8-1(a). The term "fault" means an act or omission that is negligent, willful, wanton, reckless, or intentional toward the person or property of others and includes the "[u]nreasonable failure to avoid an injury or to mitigate damages." Ind. Code § 34-6-2-45(a).

Johnson alleges that the Grinder's instructions failed to warn him regarding the dangers of using the Grinder with a cut-off disc but without a safety guard, and that the Grinder was defective in its design because it was sold without a safety guard and no information on how to obtain or use a safety guard. Campbell Hausfeld has alleged all three defenses: incurred risk, misuse and alteration of the Grinder.

Today we address whether the affirmative defense of misuse serves as a complete bar to recovery in a products liability action in light of inclusion of comparative fault principles in the IPLA, a question this Court left open in Morgen v. Ford Motor Co. , 797 N.E.2d 1146, 1148 n. 3 (Ind. 2003) ("At least two recent decisions have held that under Indiana products liability law, the defense of misuse is not a complete defense, but instead an element of comparative fault...The parties [ ] make no argument along these lines and we express no opinion on it.") We hold that misuse is a complete defense, but it has to be proven. In this case, Johnson misused the Grinder in multiple ways that together could not be reasonably expected by Campbell Hausfeld and that misuse was the cause of his injuries. Thus, we affirm the trial court's summary judgment order.

I. Indiana's Product Liability Law.

Prior to 1978, Indiana imposed strict liability on manufacturers and sellers for injuries caused by unreasonably dangerous products based on the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A. See J. I. Case Co. v. Sandefur , (1964) 245 Ind. 213, 197 N.E.2d 519 ; Bemis Co., Inc. v. Rubush , 427 N.E.2d 1058 (Ind. 1981), reh'g denied; Reed v. Central Soya Co., Inc. , 621 N.E.2d 1069 (Ind. 1993), modified on reh'g. In 1978, the Indiana legislature passed the IPLA to govern products liability claims under both strict liability and negligence theories. See Ind. Code §§ 33-1-1.5-1 through 33-1-1.5-8 (1978). In 1983, the IPLA was amended to apply to only strict liability actions.

In 1995, several significant amendments were made to the IPLA. See Ind. Code §§ 33-1-1.5-1 through 33-1-1.5-10 (1995). For instance, the 1995 Amendments eliminated joint or shared liability, limited strict liability claims to manufacturing defect claims, and provided that actions against sellers based on design defects or based on failure to provide adequate warnings/instructions are to be decided using a negligence standard. Ind. Code § 33-1-1.5-1 (1995) ; § 33-1-1.5-3 (1995). The amendments also adopted comparative fault principles to govern product liability actions. Ind. Code § 33-1-1.5-10 (1995). In 1998, the IPLA was recodified but no substantive revisions were made. Ind. Code §§ 34-20-1-1 through 34-20-9-1.

When the IPLA was enacted in 1978, it provided four statutory defenses: 1) incurred risk;...