Dennis v. Ford Motor Company

• Citation: 332 F. Supp. 901
• Decision Date: 14 October 1971
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 68-1141.
• Parties: Delmar B. DENNIS v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

332 F. Supp. 901

Delmar B. DENNIS v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

Civ. A. No. 68-1141.

United States District Court, W. D. Pennsylvania.

October 14, 1971.

Dougherty, Larrimer, Lee & Hickton, Pittsburgh, Pa., for plaintiff.

Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, Pittsburgh, Pa., for defendant.

KNOX, District Judge.

OPINION

This is a products liability case based on diversity of citizenship of the parties. After a three-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff in the amount of $13,471 including $3,850 for loss of use of the tractor and trailer destroyed in the accident. The defendant has filed a Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict, Motion for Remittitur and/or Motion for New Trial.

On September 28, 1967, plaintiff purchased a new truck-tractor from Null Ford Sales, an authorized and franchised Ford dealer. The truck was then taken by plaintiff to his place of business where the plaintiff's brother, L. J. Dennis, mounted a fifth wheel, being the device by which a semi-trailer is connected, on the tractor. He then drove the tractor on a test run for a distance of approximately 10 miles. The truck was also tested by plaintiff's driver, Howard Dale Fisher. No difficulty was experienced in the operation of the truck during these test runs.

On September 30, 1967, on the first use of the tractor with a semi-trailer attached carrying a sawdust load, the tractor-trailer combination had proceeded approximately one and a half or two miles when going downhill it left the right side of the highway, hitting a culvert and some trees. The driver testified he felt the right front wheel give way and he then lost steering control. The plaintiff produced testimony that the tractor and trailer were both a total loss as a result of this accident. In addition, plaintiff testified to a loss of use of this equipment in the amount of $3,865 for the time during which he was unable to replace the same. The court submitted to the jury a special interrogatory on loss of use and the jury returned a finding for this item, which was included in the general verdict. Judgment was entered in the total verdict in the amount of $13,471. The case is presently before this court on defendant's Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict and/or Motion for New Trial and Motion for Remittitur of the amount found for loss of use.

The first issue raised by defendant in support of its motions for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict and/or New Trial is that plaintiff has not sustained the burden of providing all the necessary elements under the Restatement, Torts 2d § 402A. More specifically, the defendant complains that plaintiff had the burden, and failed to prove that any change in the vehicle from the time it left the defendant's control was not a contributing cause of the accident. The defendant contends that the addition of the fifth wheel to the tractor and the installation of a wet line are such substantial changes after the delivery of the tractor to the plaintiff as to insulate the defendant from liability for the malfunction.

"Whether reasonable and well-balanced minds would be satisfied from the evidence adduced that the defective condition existed when the machine was delivered" is the test to be applied. Greco v. Bucciconi Engineering Co., 407 F.2d 87 (3d Cir. 1969) affirming Judge Miller of this court in 283 F.Supp. 978 (W.D.Pa.1967). The transcript of the trial in this case shows sufficient evidence from which a jury might well conclude that these additions to the equipment did not contribute in any way to the accident involved. The testimony indicated that the fifth wheel was properly installed by one experienced in such work and that the installation was not related to the malfunctioning of the tractor. The fifth wheel was installed on the frame to the rear of the cab in the normal position for such device. The wreck according to plaintiff's evidence resulted from a malfunction of the steering mechanism. The addition of a fifth wheel and the installation of a wet line¹ were certainly not made in conjunction with an abnormal use of the tractor. On the contrary, these additions were such as must have been contemplated by the defendant manufacturer. Absent such changes the tractor could not have been used for the purpose for which it was designed, manufactured, sold and purchased, to wit: to haul semi-trailers.

A manufacturer may be insulated from liability for the malfunction of an instrumentality when a change in the condition of such an instrumentality causes or significantly contributes to the malfunctioning of the instrumentality involved. The plaintiff must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the malfunction was due to a defective condition which existed when the tractor was delivered. Plaintiff, however, is not required to disprove every possibility conceived by defense counsel's inventive mind. To require plaintiff to sustain such a burden is tantamount to abolishing his cause of action in such cases.² If believed, the testimony in this case, taken as a whole, would certainly permit the jury to infer (as it apparently did) that the sole cause of the accident was the defective right front king pin and the failure of the steering mechanism and that the purported "changes" were not "intervening superseding causes" such as would relieve defendant from liability. Greco v. Bucciconi Engineering Co., supra, citing 402A Comment q. See also comment p.

Furthermore, this court finds no authority for the proposition advanced by defendant that once a plaintiff attempts to establish a specific defect in a product, plaintiff is thereby foreclosed from relying on the principle³ that evidence of a malfunction of a vehicle is sufficient to establish liability without proof of the specific defect causing the malfunction. In products liability cases, a plaintiff has not been required to make the election as to whether to prove his case with evidence of a general malfunction of the product or whether to prove his case by evidence of a specific defect in the product. If he is unable by expert testimony to pinpoint the defect he can still fall back on the fact of malfunction as evidence of a defect. MacDougall v. Ford Motor Co., supra. Requiring plaintiff to make such an election has no more basis in reason than requiring plaintiff to make an election to prove fatigue fracture or impact fracture. The jury is entitled to have as much evidence as possible presented to it with respect to any malfunctioning of a vehicle, whether such evidence be general or specific, in order that it can make a conclusion grounded in facts upon which to base its verdict. This court believes that the jury was properly instructed as follows: "You may find the Ford Motor Company liable to the plaintiff for damages if you conclude that the Ford tractor did not function properly even though the specific defect causing the malfunction has not been established, provided you find that no change in the tractor by plaintiff caused this accident."⁴

The Pennsylvania courts have not yet clearly delineated the effect of a "substantial change" in a 402A case. It is obvious that not every change in a vehicle will relieve a manufacturer of liability. For example, the addition of a radio and air conditioning would not affect responsibility for breaking of a defective wheel. The extension of 402A to component parts by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in Burbage v. Boiler Engineering & Supply Co., 433 Pa. 319, 249 A.2d 563 (1969) and the citation of the Greco cases with approval in MacDougall indicates an adoption of the expanding social policy behind 402A. See discussion under comment p to 402A. For these reasons, we believe the Pennsylvania courts will hold that for a substantial change to absolve the manufacturer under 402A the change must have some causal connection with the accident.

In the instant case the plaintiff's evidence showed that the steering mechanism failed within two days of the purchase of this tractor, with scarcely any mileage accumulated since such purchase. While defendant's testimony sought to prove that there was no defect in the steering and that the mishap was caused by improper placement of the fifth wheel which caused the outfit to go out of control this was obviously a jury question and the court is not disposed to interfere with the jury's decision.

Therefore, this court denies defendant's Motions for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict and/or Motion for a New Trial and finds that plaintiff has fully met the requisite burden of proof.

The second issue raised by defendant seeking a remittitur or reduction of the judgment is that plaintiff is not entitled to damages for loss of use of the tractor and trailer. Defendant has relied on Dixon v. Priester, 85 Pa. Dist. & Co.R. 109 (1952) and Cowher v. Dornhaffer, 47 Pa.Dist. & Co.R.2d 190 (1969) as supporting its position that no recovery can be had for the loss of use of a commercial vehicle damaged beyond repair. However, these cases are distinguishable in several particulars.

In the Dixon case, Judge Laub's opinion was to a considerable extent based upon the procedural aspects of the case, the claim for loss of use not having been clearly set forth. Testimony in Dixon disclosed that as a result of collision, plaintiff suffered personal injuries which incapacitated him for three weeks during which time he was unable to drive a truck or conduct his business. Plaintiff's truck, used for commercial purposes, was totally...