Cook v. Ford Motor Co.
| Decision Date | 21 September 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. 49A02-0802-CV-130.,49A02-0802-CV-130. |
| Citation | 913 N.E.2d 311 |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
| Parties | Peter and Lori COOK, As Parents and Next Best Friend of Lindsey Jo Cook, A Minor, Appellants-Plaintiffs, v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY, a Delaware Corporation, Appellee-Defendant. |
Lance Wittry, Wittry Law Office, Cheryl Planck, Indianapolis, IN, David V. Scott, New Albany, IN, Attorneys for Appellants.
Kevin C. Schiferl, Nelson D. Alexander, Frost Brown Todd LLC, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.
Peter and Lori Cook, as parents and next friends of Lindsey Jo Cook, filed a products liability lawsuit against Ford Motor Company following a motor vehicle accident in which eight-year-old Lindsey suffered serious brain injuries when the airbag in the Cooks' 1997 Ford F-150 pickup truck deployed and struck her in the head. The Cooks alleged that Lindsey's injuries were caused in part by Ford's defective instruction and warnings with respect to the front passenger seat airbag and airbag deactivation switch.
The trial court granted summary judgment to Ford on the Cooks' failure to warn claim, and the Cooks appeal, raising several issues that we restate as three: 1) whether the Cooks' failure to warn claim is preempted; 2) if not, whether a genuine issue of material fact exists regarding Ford's breach of its duty to warn; and 3) whether a genuine issue of material fact exists regarding Ford's breach being a proximate cause of Lindsey's injury. Ford crossappeals the trial court's denial of its motion for fees and costs filed after a mistrial was declared, raising the issue of whether the trial court abused its discretion in failing to find the Cooks in contempt.
Concluding the Cooks' claim is not preempted by federal regulation and there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Ford breached its duty to warn and whether Ford was the proximate cause of Lindsey's injury, we reverse the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Ford on the Cooks' failure to warn claim and remand for further proceedings. Further concluding Ford was not entitled to fees and costs incurred during the first trial, we affirm the trial court's denial of Ford's motion for reimbursement.
In 1999, the Cooks purchased a used 1997 Ford truck that was placed into the stream of commerce in 1996. The truck was equipped with part-time four-wheel drive and a front side passenger airbag which could be manually disabled. Lori was to be the primary driver of the truck, but she did not read the owner's manual nor the warnings printed within the car, specifically on the sun visor. Peter looked at the owner's manual in order to understand how and when to engage the four-wheel drive. He also read page 72 of the owner's manual regarding how and when to turn off the front seat passenger airbag. Page 72 includes the following language in a colored box at the top of the page marked with an exclamation point inside a triangular symbol:
Keep the passenger air bag turned on unless there is a rear-facing infant seat installed in the front seat. When the passenger air bag switch is turned off, the passenger air bag will not inflate in a collision.
Appellant's Appendix at 150. Based on Peter's reading of page 72 of the manual, he believed the only reason to turn off the airbag was if a child was riding in the front passenger seat in a rear-facing child seat. Page 72 also included the following warning in a colored box:
If the passenger air bag switch is turned off, it increases the likelihood of injury to forward facing occupants in the passenger seat.
Id. Peter never saw or read the following warning printed on the vehicle's sun visor:
WARNING TO AVOID SERIOUS INJURY:
• For maximum safety protection in all types of crashes, you must always wear your safety belt.
• Do not install rearward-facing child seats in any front passenger seat position, unless the air bag is off.
• Do not sit or lean unnecessarily close to the air bag.
• Do not place any objects over the air bag or between the air bag and yourself.
See the Owner's Manual for further information and explanations.
Id. at 97. In addition to the warning Peter read on page 72, the owner's manual also contained the following warnings and information under the heading "Seating and safety restraints":
All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, should always wear their safety belts.
To prevent the risk of injury, make sure children sit where they can be properly restrained.
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area, inside or outside of a vehicle.
In a collision, people riding in these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do not allow people to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and using a safety belt properly.
Id. at 94 ();
Always follow the instruction and warnings that come with any infant or child restraint you might use.
If possible, place children in the rear seat of your vehicle. Accident statistics suggest that children are safer when properly restrained in rear seating positions than when they are restrained in front seating positions.
Children and safety belts
Children who are too large for child safety seats (as specified by your child safety seat manufacturer) should always wear safety belts.
Follow all the important safety restraint and air bag precautions that apply to adult passengers in your vehicle.
If the shoulder belt portion of a combination lap and shoulder belt can be positioned so it does not cross or rest in front of the child's face or neck, the child should wear the lap and shoulder belt. Moving the child closer to the center of the vehicle may help provide a good shoulder belt fit.
If the shoulder belt cannot be properly positioned:
• move the child to one of the seats with a lap belt only (if equipped)
• if the child is the proper size, restrain the child in a safety seat.
Id. at 95 ().
On April 20, 2002, the Cooks drove the truck to a friend's house in Indianapolis. Because Peter was staying to watch a basketball game, Lori moved to the driver's seat of the truck. Peter buckled Lindsey into the front passenger seat and the Cooks' two-year-old son was in a child seat in the back seat of the truck. Shortly after leaving, Lori and the children were involved in a low-speed rear-end collision. At some point prior to the collision, Lindsey had unbuckled her seat belt and was unrestrained at the time of the collision. The air bags deployed as a result of the collision and Lindsey suffered serious head trauma.
On October 23, 2002, the Cooks filed a complaint against, inter alia, Ford Motor Company. The complaint alleged, in relevant part, that Ford was negligent in designing several aspects of the truck. The Cooks also apparently alleged that Ford "failed to warn them of the dangers posed by the airbag to unrestrained children in the front seat of the [truck]." Id. at 24.2 From February 13 to February 22, 2007 evidence was presented to a jury on the Cooks' complaint. On February 22, 2007, Ford moved for a directed verdict and a mistrial. The trial court granted a mistrial and reset the case for jury trial on January 15, 2008. The trial court subsequently denied Ford's motion for costs incurred due to the mistrial.
On April 9, 2007, Ford filed a motion for summary judgment as to the Cooks' failure to warn claim, maintaining there was no genuine issue of material fact and it was therefore entitled to summary judgment for five reasons:
1. The alleged failure to give adequate warnings was not the proximate cause of the harm because [the Cooks] failed to read the warnings provided.
2. [The Cooks'] biomechanical expert concedes that if [the Cooks] heeded the warnings provided by Ford, Lindsey would not have sustained her injuries.
3. [The Cooks] are required to present expert testimony concerning the specific wording, content, appearance and placement of a "proper" warning, yet [the Cooks] have not retained a warnings expert.
4. [The Cooks'] state law failure-to-warn claim is impliedly pre-empted by federal regulation governing airbag warnings, 49 C.F.R. § 571.208.
5. Compliance with the applicable federal regulation gives rise to a presumption under state law that the product was not defective and that the defendant was not negligent.
Id. at 24-25. Following a hearing, the trial court entered an order granting summary judgment for Ford on the Cooks' failure to warn claim. After additional proceedings not relevant to this appeal,3 the trial court issued an Entry of Final Judgment on January 16, 2008. The Cooks now appeal the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Ford on their failure to warn claim; Ford cross-appeals the trial court's denial of its motion for costs following the mistrial.
Summary judgment is appropriate only when the designated evidence "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). "A genuine issue of material fact exists where facts concerning an issue which would dispose of the litigation are in dispute or where the undisputed facts are capable of supporting conflicting inferences on such an issue." Scott v. Bodor, Inc., 571 N.E.2d 313, 318 (Ind.Ct. App.1991).
We review the grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment de novo. Univ. of S. Ind. Found. v. Baker, 843 N.E.2d 528, 531 (Ind.2006). We examine only those materials properly designated by the parties to the trial court. Trietsch v. Circle Design Group, Inc., 868 N.E.2d 812, 817 (Ind.Ct.App.2007). We construe all facts and...
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