Clay v. Ferrellgas, Inc., s. 20701

• Decision Date: 01 August 1994
• Docket Number: Nos. 20701,20705,s. 20701
• Citation: 1994 NMSC 80,118 N.M. 266,881 P.2d 11
• Parties: Royce CLAY, Plaintiff-Petitioner, and Shella Snider, Defendant and Third-Party-Plaintiff-Petitioner, v. FERRELLGAS, INC., and Gilbert Candelaria, Defendants-Respondents.
• Court: New Mexico Supreme Court

Page 11

881 P.2d 11

118 N.M. 266

Royce CLAY, Plaintiff-Petitioner and Shella Snider, Defendant and Third-Party-Plaintiff-Petitioner, v. FERRELLGAS, INC., and Gilbert Candelaria, Defendants-Respondents.

Nos. 20701, 20705.

Supreme Court of New Mexico.

Aug. 1, 1994.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 16, 1994.

[118 N.M. 267] Pat Chowning, Albuquerque, for Royce Clay.

Felker, Ish, Hatcher, Ritchie, Sullivan & Geer, P.A., Mark L. Ish, Mariana G. Geer, Santa Fe, Shamas & Perrin, Ralph Shamas, Roswell, for Shella Snider.

Modrall, Sperling, Roehl, Harris & Sisk, Douglas R. Vadnais, Albuquerque, Smith, Gill, Fisher & Butts, P.C., David R. Schlee, Charles W. Gordon, Jr., Louis A. Huber, III, Kansas City, MO, for respondents.

William H. Carpenter, Michael B. Browde, Albuquerque, for amicus curiae New Mexico Trial Lawyers Ass'n.

Alice Tomlinson Lorenz, Albuquerque, for amicus curiae New Mexico Defense Lawyers Ass'n.

OPINION

RANSOM, Justice.

Ferrellgas, Inc., and Gilbert Candelaria appealed to the Court of Appeals from a personal injury judgment entered on a jury verdict awarding compensatory and punitive damages to Royce Clay and Shella Snider. The Court of Appeals affirmed the award of compensatory damages but reversed the award of punitive damages. Clay v. Ferrellgas, Inc., 114 N.M. 333, 838 P.2d 487 (Ct.App.1992). We issued a writ of certiorari to the Court of Appeals to review the reversal of the award of punitive damages. Finding substantial evidence to support the jury verdict, we reverse the Court of Appeals.

Facts. Although there was conflicting evidence throughout the trial, we will view the evidence in the light most favorable to support the verdict. Tapia v. Panhandle Steel Erectors Co., 78 N.M. 86, 89, 428 P.2d 625, 628 (1967). We draw all reasonable inferences and resolve all disputed facts in favor of the successful party and disregard all evidence and inferences to the contrary. Id. Applying this standard, we discern the following facts.

In July 1986 Snider received a car as a gift from her companion, Boyd Clement. Soon thereafter Snider and Clement decided to have the vehicle converted to run on liquid propane as well as on gasoline. Clement took the car to Ferrellgas, which had previously converted several other vehicles to propane use for him. He spoke with office manager Gerald Schell about the arrangements and left the car with Ferrellgas. As part of the deal, Clement purchased a used propane tank from Candelaria, a Ferrellgas employee. Candelaria proceeded to install the tank in the trunk of Snider's car. Candelaria testified that it was his practice to "leak-test" each tank he installed, but he could not recall if he leak-tested this tank. A tank cannot be tested for leaks unless it contains propane, and, to remove all of the propane after testing, the tank must be purged using an inert, nonflammable gas such as nitrogen. None of the Ferrellgas employees purged the tank at any time.

For safety reasons, state law requires that the area inside the vehicle where the tank is mounted be "gastight with respect to driver or passenger compartments and to any space containing ... spark-producing equipment" and the area must be "vented outside the vehicle." Standards for the Storage and Handling of Liquefied Petroleum Gases, N.M. Liquefied Petroleum Gas Bureau, Engine Fuel Sys. Reg. 8-2.7(a)(1), 4 N.M. Reg. 282 (Jan. 27, 1993). Thus, before a tank may be mounted, the installer must place a sealed vapor barrier between the passenger compartment and the enclosure containing the tank (the trunk of the car in this case) and install an outside vent to protect vehicle occupants from the dangers of leaking gas. State law also requires that the tank be placed so that it may be filled from the outside of the vehicle "by permanently installing the remote filling connections ... to the outside of the vehicle." Id. Reg. 8-2.7(b). Finally, according to the testimony of Ray Engstrom, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Bureau Chief for New Mexico, a form detailing the work done on a vehicle ("Form 6") is to be filed with the state inspector's office when a tank is installed. The purpose of this requirement is to give the inspector an opportunity to double-check the installer's work and make sure it was done correctly. If more than one installer worked on the vehicle, the inspector checks to make sure each part of the work has been done properly.

Ferrellgas admitted that it knew of these safety requirements when it began the conversion of Snider's vehicle. In addition, Candelaria stated that he believed he was to do a complete conversion on Snider's vehicle. Sometime in April, however, Ferrellgas told Clement that completion of the job would be delayed because some parts were not available. After waiting for the parts for a few months, Clement went to pick up the vehicle. At this point Ferrellgas had not installed the vapor barrier between the passenger compartment and the trunk, had not vented the compartment with an outside vent, and had not completed the work necessary so that the tank could be remote-filled. Ferrellgas told Clement that the tank had been installed and informed him that the car would not yet run on propane because the conversion had not been completed. Ferrellgas did not, however, inform Clement that the tank might be dangerous or that the trunk had not been sealed.

Ferrellgas also did not file a Form 6 reporting the installation of the tank. Schell testified that he did not believe a form needed to be filed because the installation had not been completed. Engstrom, however, testified that a form should have been filed. Further, although Schell contended that he had completed over 100 propane tank installations, the state inspector's office could not find a single Form 6 filed by Ferrellgas. Ferrellgas did not offer any excuse for its failure to file the requisite forms.

Snider drove the vehicle for almost four months while waiting for the conversion parts. Because Ferrellgas was unable to obtain the parts, Clement took the car to Gary Roybal to complete the conversion. Roybal completed the adaptation of the car's carburetion system and removed the tank, repainted it, and repositioned it in the same place that Candelaria had installed it. Roybal leak-tested the parts of the conversion system that he had installed but did not test the tank or check to see if a vapor barrier was in place. Roybal testified that he did not check for a vapor barrier because he assumed that Ferrellgas had installed one when it installed the tank. He based this assumption on his belief that the propane tank had some fuel in it when Clement brought in the vehicle.

Although Roybal's work made it possible for the vehicle to be run on propane, Snider did not operate it in that manner because Clement was going to return the vehicle to Ferrellgas so that Ferrellgas could adapt the tank for remote filling. Clement and Snider testified that they did not put propane in the tank at any time. Roybal also testified that he did not put propane in the tank.

On September 20, 1987, Snider and Clay got in to the vehicle and attempted to start it. When Snider turned the key in the ignition, the car exploded and the ensuing burst of flames severely burned both Snider and Clay. The explosion occurred because the spark from the ignition ignited propane gas that had leaked from a faulty valve on the tank and migrated into the passenger compartment of the car. According to expert testimony, the vehicle was unsafe from the time it was picked up from Ferrellgas because there was propane in the tank and because the vehicle lacked a vapor barrier and proper venting.

Proceedings. Snider and Clay both brought actions against Ferrellgas and Roybal based on negligence and failure to warn. They each sought compensatory and punitive damages. Prior to trial Snider and Clay settled their claims against Roybal. At the conclusion of the trial the jury determined that Ferrellgas was eighty-nine percent at fault and Roybal was eleven percent at fault. The jury awarded Snider $345,000 in total compensatory damages and awarded Clay $250,000 in total compensatory damages. The jury also determined that the actions of Ferrellgas were reckless and grossly negligent and awarded each woman $375,000 in punitive damages.

Ferrellgas may be held liable for punitive damages. The Court of Appeals reversed the award of punitive damages because it did not believe that Ferrellgas had the requisite "culpable mental state" to be held liable for punitive damages.¹ 114 N.M. at 337-38, 838 P.2d at 491-92. The Court's belief appears to be based upon the absence of evidence showing that any single employee knew that the car was being released with propane in the tank and without the installation of a vapor barrier or proper venting. Id. at 338, 838 P.2d at 492. The Court also adopted the rule that the nature of conduct required to demonstrate a culpable mental state does not decrease as the risk of danger increases, citing for support Gleave v. Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, 749 P.2d 660 (Utah Ct.App.1988). 114 N.M. at 338-39, 838 P.2d at 492-93. We disagree with the interpretation of the facts and the rule adopted by the Court of Appeals.

-The culpable mental state of a party may be characterized by the risk of danger. The purpose of punitive damages is to punish a wrongdoer. Sanchez v. Dale Bellamah Homes of New Mexico, Inc., 76 N.M. 526, 531, 417 P.2d 25, 29 (1966). To be liable for punitive damages, a wrongdoer must have some culpable mental state, McGinnis v. Honeywell, Inc., 110 N.M. 1, 9, 791 P.2d 452, 460 (1990), and the wrongdoer's conduct must rise to a willful, wanton, malicious, reckless, oppressive, or fraudulent level, Loucks v. Albuquerque Nat'l Bank, 76 N.M. 735, 747, 418 P.2d 191, 200 (1966). The Court of Appeals recognized these standards and adopted the rule in Gleave after inferring the trial court had ruled that "a less culpable mental state would be...