Chase v. Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.
| Decision Date | 02 May 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. A. 00-A-907-E.,CIV. A. 00-A-907-E. |
| Citation | 140 F.Supp.2d 1280 |
| Parties | Ashley CHASE and Jeffrey Chase, minors, by and through their next best friend, Teresa Chase, Plaintiffs, v. KAWASAKI MOTORS CORP., U.S.A., Honda/Kawasaki Sea Doo of Columbus, Inc., and Jason Dyer, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama |
Donald R. Harrison, Harrison & Edmondson, LLC, Dadeville, AL, Ben C. Hand, Jr., Hand & Associates, Opelika, AL, for Ashley Chase, a minor, by and through her next best friend, Teresa Chase, Jeffrey Chase, a minor, by and through his next best friend, Teresa Chase, plaintiffs.
E. Martin Bloom, C. Mark Bain, Friedman Leak & Bloom PC, Birmingham, AL, Robert K. Miller, Bowman & Brooke, Torrance, CA, H.E. Nix, Jr., Jay S. Tuley, Nix Holtsford Gilliland Lyons & Higgins PC, Montgomery, for Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., Jason Dyer, Honda/Kawasaki Sea Doo of Columbus, Inc., defendants.
This cause is before the court on Motions for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant Kawasaki Motor Corporation., U.S.A. ("Kawasaki") on January 10, 2001 (doc. # 18) and by Defendants Honda/Kawasaki Sea Doo of Columbus, Inc. and Jason Dyer (collectively "Honda of Columbus") on January 11, 2001 (doc. # 21). Defendant Kawasaki also filed a Request for Oral Argument on February 5, 2001 (doc. # 26).1
Ashley Chase and Jeffrey Chase (collectively "Plaintiffs") bring suit by their next best friend, Teresa Chase. Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint, filed on March 7, 2001 in response to this court's February 27, 2001 Order, raises claims for violation of the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine ("AEMLD") (Count One), breach of implied warranties (Count Two), violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (Count Three), and fraudulent misrepresentation (Count IV). This court has jurisdiction over this cause pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1367.
In ruling on each of the Motions for Summary Judgment, this court will consider all of the submissions of all of the parties.
Under Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show 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." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
The party asking for summary judgment "always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the `pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,' which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The movant can meet this burden by presenting evidence showing there is no dispute of material fact, or by showing, or pointing out to, the district court that the nonmoving party has failed to present evidence in support of some element of its case on which it bears the ultimate burden of proof. See id. at 322-324, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
Once the moving party has met its burden, Rule 56(e) "requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by [its] own affidavits, or by the `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. To avoid summary judgment, the nonmoving party "must do more than show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). On the other hand, the evidence of the nonmovant must be believed and all justifiable inferences must be drawn in its favor. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
After the nonmoving party has responded to the motion for summary judgment, the court must grant summary judgment if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).
The facts as presented in the submissions of the parties, viewed in a light most favorable to the non-movants, are as follows:
On June 16, 1998, Jeffrey Rudolph Chase, Sr., ("Mr.Chase") and Teresa Chase ("Mrs.Chase") (collectively "Parents") purchased a 1998 four wheel all-terrain vehicle ("ATV") for their children, the current Plaintiffs, from Defendant Honda of Columbus. The ATV was manufactured by Defendant Kawasaki. At the time of purchase, Ashley Chase was fourteen years old and Jeffrey Rudolph Chase, Jr., ("Jeff") was twelve. It is undisputed that the particular ATV purchased by Parents for Plaintiffs was not intended to be used by children under the age of sixteen, and various warnings to that effect were provided to Parents at the time of sale. Plaintiffs claim that Defendant Jason Dyer, a salesperson for Honda of Columbus, convinced Parents to purchase the ATV despite the fact that the ATV was not meant to be used by children as young as the Plaintiffs.
On July 11, 1998, nearly a month after Parents purchased the ATV, Plaintiffs took the ATV to their friends' home. On their return trip, Ashley drove the ATV and Jeff rode as a passenger. Ashley was operating the ATV adjacent to a roadway when she observed a pothole in their path. She attempted to apply the brakes, but the ATV did not stop, and the Plaintiffs struck the pothole and overturned. Plaintiffs suffered injuries as a result of this incident.
Prior to the accident, neither Plaintiffs nor Parents read the ATV Owner's Manual which included a section relating to the maintenance and adjustment of the ATV's brakes. Plaintiffs and Defendants agree that the accident occurred because the ATV's brakes were out of adjustment. Plaintiffs claim that the brakes were out of adjustment because they were designed to fail by Kawasaki.
Defendants have moved for summary judgment on all claims included in Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint. The court will now address Defendants' various arguments supporting summary judgment.
A quarter century ago, the Alabama Supreme Court enunciated the Alabama Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine (hereinafter the "AEMLD") in Casrell v. Altec Industries, Inc., 335 So.2d 128 (Ala. 1976) and Atkins v. American Motors Corp., 335 So.2d 134 (Ala.1976). In order to establish liability under the AEMLD:
(1) A plaintiff must prove he suffered injury or damages to himself or his property by one who sold a product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the plaintiff as the ultimate consumer, if (a) the seller was engaged in the business of selling such a product, and (b) it was expected to, and did, reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition to which it was sold. (2) Having established the above elements, the plaintiff has proved a prima facie case although (a) the seller had exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of his product, and (b) the user or consumer had not bought the product from or entered into any contractual relation with the seller.
Caudle v. Patridge, 566 So.2d 244, 247 (Ala.1990) (quoting Atkins, 335 So.2d at 141). This system of determining liability shifts the emphasis from the seller's conduct to the defective nature of the product. Id.
Count One of Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint alleges multiple claims under the AEMLD, but in response to Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment, Plaintiffs only rely on two of those claims—a claim for design defect and a claim for failure to warn. See Pls' Resp. at 4-5 (). The court will restrict the scope of its discussion, as did Plaintiffs in their Response, to those two claims. See Resolution Trust Corp. v. Dunmar Corp., 43 F.3d 587, 599 (11th Cir.1995) ( ) (citations omitted).
Defendants contend that any AEMLD claims made by Plaintiffs must fail because Plaintiffs have failed to show any defect in the ATV's braking system. Defendants also insist that they are due summary judgment on Plaintiffs' failure to warn claims because neither Parents nor Plaintiffs read the information provided to them concerning the maintenance and adjustment of the ATV's braking system. Plaintiffs argue that the evidence shows that the ATV was "designed to fail after 10 hours of use" and that "had there been a prominent warning on the ATV that the brakes were designed to fail after 10 hours, [Mrs. Chase] would have read it and refused to purchase [the ATV]." Pls' Response at 6 & 8.
As another judge in this district has recently noted, Alabama case law requires an AEMLD plaintiff to come forward with, among other things, at least some evidence to support an inference that the product in question was defective. Rudd v. General Motors Corp., 127 F.Supp.2d 1330, 1345 (M.D.Ala.2001) (Thompson, J.). Mere proof of an accident with ensuing injuries is insufficient to establish AEMLD fault because "the plaintiff must affirmatively show that the product was sold with a defect or in a defective condition." Jordan v. General Motors Corp., 581 So.2d...
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