Champion v. Great Dane Ltd. Partnership

• Court: Texas Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: Kem Thompson Frost
• Citation: Champion v. Great Dane Ltd. Partnership, 286 S.W.3d 533 (Tex. App. 2009)
• Decision Date: 07 May 2009
• Docket Number: No. 14-08-00310-CV.,14-08-00310-CV.
• Parties: Tommy CHAMPION, Appellant, v. GREAT DANE LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, Appellee.

286 S.W.3d 533

Tommy CHAMPION, Appellant, v. GREAT DANE LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, Appellee.

No. 14-08-00310-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (14th Dist.).

May 7, 2009.

Richard L. Lagarde, Roger N. Chrisco, Houston, for Appellant.

William C. Book, LeAnn Kay, Houston, for Appellee.

Panel consists of Chief Justice HEDGES, Justice FROST, and Senior Justice HUDSON.^*

OPINION

KEM THOMPSON FROST, Justice.

The underlying products-liability case arose from injuries sustained by appellant, a truck driver, in attempting to unload a truck trailer manufactured by appellee. The truck driver complains on appeal that the trial court erred in excluding testimony from his expert witness as to the trailer's alleged design defect and in granting a motion for a directed verdict in favor of the manufacturer on the design-defect claim. We affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Appellant Tommy Champion, a truck driver, filed suit against appellee Great Dane Limited Partnership (hereinafter "Great Dane") for injuries he sustained in an incident involving a truck trailer manufactured by Great Dane. The trailer was owned by Penske Trucking Leasing Company,¹ which leased the trailer to Champion's employer.

Great Dane designed and manufactured the refrigerated trailer according to Champion's employer's specifications. The trailer had ridged flooring that allowed cold air to circulate beneath the freight. An uncovered gutter² spanned the width of the trailer in the rear, which allowed for condensation and liquids from leaky freight to drain away from the freight. Liquids flowed into drainpipes on each side of the gutter to prevent pooling. A "lift gate platform" was attached to the rear of the trailer, which facilitated loading and unloading cargo. Champion had not used this particular trailer before the incident in question.

On the day of the incident, Champion was transporting freight that did not require refrigeration. He was scheduled to deliver pallets of freight to several locations. He was supposed to use a pallet jack³ to pull the load off of the trailer. At the first location, Champion discovered the lift gate platform attached to the trailer was not level. He noted on a vehicle inspection form that "this ramp needs to be fixed, drops downhill." During the course of Champion's trip, he unloaded about twelve to fifteen pallets before arriving at his last stop. He used a pallet jack to unload these pallets and encountered no problems in crossing the trailer's gutter, although he admitted the pallets were relatively light. He explained at trial that in unloading these pallets, the wheels of the pallet jack "hit" the gutter and "bumped" the gutter, so that the pallet jack "bounced across" the gutter as he pulled cargo out of the trailer.

Champion's last load was to be delivered to Filter Fresh Coffee in San Antonio, where he was to unload four pallets. Although he unloaded the first two pallets without incident, he "hit" the gutter both times. The third and fourth pallets contained bottled water and cans of coffee, which were wrapped in plastic "shrinkwrap." These pallets were heavier and stacked higher than the other pallets. Champion slid the forks of the pallet jack under the third pallet and used the pallet jack to lift the pallet off of the trailer's floor. The pallet became unstable and almost fell as he maneuvered to the lift gate platform. Champion attributed the unstable load to the wheels of the pallet jack, which he claims became lodged in the trailer's gutter. Filter Fresh Coffee employees assisted Champion by removing some of the bottled water from the pallet. He then moved the pallet into the Filter Fresh Coffee building.

In unloading the last pallet, Champion lifted and moved the pallet and approached the lift gate platform from within the trailer. The wheels of the pallet jack fell into the gutter at the rear of the trailer. The palletized load shifted, and Champion stabilized it with his hands. Champion "wiggled" the load and then used the pallet jack hydraulics to lower the load. He pulled back so that the pallet jack wheels were clear of the gutter and then lifted the load with the pallet jack. Champion maneuvered onto the lift gate platform, where the pallet jack rolled 6-7 inches on its own. He then heard a "pop."⁴ The lift gate platform dropped several inches. Champion lowered the load to prevent the pallet jack from rolling off the end of the lift gate platform, and boxes fell from the pallet, hitting him in the head and knocking out some of his teeth. He jumped off of the trailer and injured his heel, ankle, elbow and thumb. Champion underwent numerous surgeries for his injuries.

Champion brought suit against Great Dane, among others, alleging causes of action for negligence, strict liability for a design defect and marketing defect, breach of warranty, and gross negligence. He complained that the trailer's uncovered gutter subjected him to an unreasonable risk of harm. At trial, Champion sought to elicit testimony from an expert witness regarding alleged marketing and design defects of the trailer's gutter. The expert witness testified briefly; however, the trial court excluded the expert's testimony as to defective design and permitted the expert to testify only for marketing defect.

At the close of Champion's evidence,⁵ by oral motion, Great Dane moved for a directed verdict on Champion's defective-design claim. Great Dane argued that Champion failed to produce evidence of a safer alternative design for the trailer's gutter and that had the safer alternative design existed, Champion presented no evidence that it would have prevented the injuries he sustained. The trial court granted this motion.

The trial court submitted questions to the jury on Champion's marketing-defect and negligence claims. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Great Dane, concluding that Champion was 100% negligent and responding "no" to a question regarding marketing defect. The trial court entered a "take nothing" judgment in favor of Great Dane, confirming the jury's verdict. Champion now appeals, asserting that the trial court erred in excluding the expert's testimony and in granting Great Dane's motion for directed verdict.

II. ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

A. Did the trial court err in granting a directed verdict for the manufacturer on the issue of design defect?

In his first issue, Champion argues that the trial court erred in granting Great Dane's oral motion for a directed verdict on the issue of design defect.

A trial court may instruct a verdict in favor of a defendant if no evidence of probative force raises a fact issue on the material questions in the suit. See Prudential Ins. Co. of Am. v. Fin. Review Servs., Inc., 29 S.W.3d 74, 77 (Tex.2000). A directed verdict in favor of a defendant may be proper when (1) a plaintiff fails to present evidence raising a fact issue essential to the plaintiff's right of recovery; or (2) the plaintiff admits or the evidence conclusively establishes a defense to the plaintiff's cause of action. See id. We review the trial court's granting of a directed verdict by following the same standard for assessing legal sufficiency of the evidence. See City of Keller v. Wilson, 168 S.W.3d 802, 809-828 (Tex.2005). When reviewing the legal sufficiency of the evidence, we consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant and indulge every reasonable inference that would support the verdict. Id. at 823. When reviewing a directed verdict, we must credit favorable evidence if a reasonable factfinder could and disregard contrary evidence unless a reasonable factfinder could not. See id. at 827.

In his live petition, Champion alleged, among other things, strict liability in design defect of the trailer's "uncovered floor gutter at the rear of the trailer that interfered with the transportation of loads out of the trailer." A design defect renders a product unreasonably dangerous as designed, thereby warranting strict liability, when taking into consideration the utility of the product and the risk involved in its use. See General Motors Corp. v. Sanchez, 997 S.W.2d 584, 588 (Tex.1999).

To establish a design defect, Champion had to show by a preponderance of the evidence that (1) there was a safer alternative design; and (2) the defect was the producing cause of the personal injury. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 82.005(a) (Vernon 2005). A "safer alternative design" under section 82.005⁶ of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code means that a product design other than the one at issue would have prevented or significantly reduced the risk of injury without substantially impairing the product's utility and that the safer alternative design was both technologically and economically feasible when the product left the control of the manufacturer. Id. § 82.005(b); see Sanchez, 997 S.W.2d at 588. Generally, the requirements to prove a design defect necessitate competent expert testimony and objective proof that a defect caused the injury. See Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. v. Armstrong, 145 S.W.3d 131, 137 (Tex.2004) (concluding this premise was not peculiar to unintended acceleration cases); DeGrate v. Executive Imprints, Inc., 261 S.W.3d 402, 410-11 (Tex. App.-Tyler 2008, no pet.) (providing that an expert's conclusory statements as to design defect are not competent evidence and are insufficient to defeat or support summary judgment for design defect).

Great Dane moved for a directed verdict, alleging that Champion offered no evidence of a safer alternative design that was both technologically and economically feasible when the trailer left Great Dane's control in 1999. Great Dane also alleged that Champion offered no evidence that a safer alternative design, had it existed, would have prevented Champion's injuries. The trial court granted Great Dane's motion.

At trial, Champion sought to show that the trailer was defectively designed because of the hazard created...