Gaumer v. Truck

• Decision Date: 12 August 2011
• Docket Number: No. 99,990.,99,990.
• Parties: Gabriel GAUMER, Appellant,v.ROSSVILLE TRUCK AND TRACTOR COMPANY, Inc., A Kansas Corporation; International Truck and Engine Corporation, A Delaware Corporation; and CNH America, LLC, A Limited Liability Company, Appellees.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

257 P.3d 292

Gabriel GAUMER, Appellant,

v.ROSSVILLE TRUCK AND TRACTOR COMPANY, Inc., A Kansas Corporation; International Truck and Engine Corporation, A Delaware Corporation; and CNH America, LLC, A Limited Liability Company, Appellees.

No. 99,990.

Supreme Court of Kansas.

Aug. 12, 2011.

Syllabus by the Court

1. Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The trial court is required to resolve all facts and inferences which may reasonably be drawn from the evidence in favor of the party against whom the ruling is sought. When opposing a motion for summary judgment, an adverse party must come forward with evidence to establish a dispute as to a material fact. In order to preclude summary judgment, the facts subject to the dispute must be material to the conclusive issues in the case. On appeal, we apply the same rules and where we find reasonable minds could differ as to the conclusions drawn from the evidence, summary judgment must be denied.

2. Appellate review of questions of law is de novo. To the extent an appellate court's analysis requires statutory interpretation or construction, its review also is unlimited.

3. The determination of whether sellers of used products are subject to strict liability in Kansas is made under both the state's common law and the Kansas Product Liability Act, K.S.A. 60–3301 et seq.

4. Sellers of used products are subject to strict liability in Kansas.

Pedro L. Irigonegaray, of Irigonegaray & Associates, of Topeka, argued the cause, and Elizabeth R. Herbert, of the same firm, was with him on the briefs for appellant.Richard W. James, of McDonald, Tinker, Skaer, Quinn & Herrington, P.A., of Wichita, argued the cause, and Dustin L. DeVaughn, of the same firm, was with him on the briefs for appellees.

The opinion of the court was delivered by BEIER, J.:

This case requires us to decide whether Kansas law recognizes a strict liability claim against the seller of a used product.

Plaintiff Gabriel Gaumer filed suit against Rossville Truck and Tractor Company, Inc. (Rossville) alleging negligence and strict liability for injuries caused by a used hay baler purchased from Rossville. The district court granted Rossville's motion for summary judgment on both the negligence and strict liability claims. The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's decision regarding Gaumer's negligence claim but reversed on his strict liability claim. Rossville petitioned for review, and this court granted the petition on the single issue of whether strict liability can be applied to a seller of used goods.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Gaumer's father purchased the used hay baler “as is” on June 3, 2003. The baler was missing a safety shield on its side, which would have been part of the baler when it was originally manufactured and sold.

A week later, the baler malfunctioned while Gaumer was using it. He parked the baler and let its engine idle while he knelt or squatted near its side to investigate the problem. Gaumer placed his right hand on the outside of the baler for support and observed its internal operation through the hole left by the missing safety shield. When he attempted to stand up straight, he slipped, and his left arm entered the same hole in the baler. Gaumer's arm became caught in the baler's internal moving parts, and he suffered an amputation just below his left elbow.

Gaumer claimed Rossville was negligent by failing to warn about the potentially dangerous condition of the baler without the safety shield, negligent by failing to inspect the baler before the sale to Gaumer's father, and strictly liable for selling a product in an unreasonably dangerous condition.

Gaumer provided an expert witness report from engineer Kevin B. Sevart. Sevart opined that Gaumer's injuries were “significantly enhanced due to the absence of a safety device designed to specifically limit injuries in an accident such as he experienced.” The report also stated: “It has long been known by engineers and the agricultural equipment industry that shields which must be removed for, or which interfere with, routine maintenance will not likely be maintained on the machine.”

The district court judge granted summary judgment on the negligence and strict liability claims, holding that the expert report's failure to mention any legal duty of Rossville to warn or inspect meant that he could not simply “piggyback the opinion of defectiveness from the manufacturer to the seller.” The judge also cited two cases from the federal District Court of Kansas, Sell v. Bertsch & Co. Inc., 577 F.Supp. 1393 (D.Kan.1984), and Stillie v. AM Intern., Inc., 850 F.Supp. 960 (D.Kan.1994), that predicted this court would not apply strict liability to sellers of used goods.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment on the negligence claims for failure to provide expert testimony on the standard of care of a used implement dealer. The panel reversed, however, on the strict liability claim, holding that (1) the expert opinion was sufficient to establish a prima facie case for strict liability, and (2) Kansas law, as so far enunciated by this court, supports a strict liability claim against a seller of used goods. It relied on caselaw; strict liability pattern instructions; and the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (1964), which make no distinction between sellers of used and new goods, declining to carve out an exception to the Restatement rule without guidance from this court.

ANALYSIS

Standard of Review

“ ‘ “ ‘Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The trial court is required to resolve all facts and inferences which may reasonably be drawn from the evidence in favor of the party against whom the ruling is sought. When opposing a motion for summary judgment, an adverse party must come forward with evidence to establish a dispute as to a material fact. In order to preclude summary judgment, the facts subject to the dispute must be material to the conclusive issues in the case. On appeal, we apply the same rules and where we find reasonable minds could differ as to the conclusions drawn from the evidence, summary judgment must be denied.’ [Citation omitted.]” ' ” Troutman v. Curtis, 286 Kan. 452, 454–55, 185 P.3d 930 (2008) (quoting Nungesser v. Bryant, 283 Kan. 550, 556, 153 P.3d 1277 [2007] ).

The parties agree that there are no material factual disputes in this case, and the sole question on this petition for review is a purely legal one. Our review is thus de novo. Cooke v. Gillespie, 285 Kan. 748, 754, 176 P.3d 144 (2008). In addition, to the extent our analysis requires statutory interpretation or construction, our review is unlimited. Delaney v. Deere & Co., 268 Kan. 769, 775, 999 P.2d 930 (2000).

Sources of Law

We begin by determining whether to answer the legal question by looking solely to the Kansas Product Liability Act (KPLA), K.S.A. 60–3301 et seq. , or at the KPLA and Kansas common law. In other words, does the KPLA supersede Kansas common law on this question?

The KPLA states that a

“ ‘[p]roduct liability claim’ ... includes, but is not limited to, any action previously based on: strict liability in tort; negligence; breach of express or implied warranty; breach of, or failure to, discharge a duty to warn or instruct, whether negligent or innocent; misrepresentation, concealment, or nondisclosure, whether negligent or innocent; or under any other substantive legal theory.” K.S.A. 60–3302.

Generally, this court does not engage in an examination of legislative history unless the language of a statute is ambiguous. See Unruh v. Purina Mills, 289 Kan. 1185, 1194, 221 P.3d 1130 (2009) (citing In re K.M.H., 285 Kan. 53, 79, 169 P.3d 1025 [2007], cert. denied sub nom Hendrix v. Harrington, 555 U.S. 937, 129 S.Ct. 36, 172 L.Ed.2d 239 [2008] ). When language is ambiguous, the court looks to the “ ‘historical background of the enactment, the circumstances attending its passage, the purposes to be accomplished, and the effects the statute may have under the various constructions suggested’ ” to determine legislative intent. In re M.F., 290 Kan. 142, 151, 225 P.3d 1177 (2010) (quoting State v. Phillips, 289 Kan. 28, 32, 210 P.3d 93 [2009] ). The KPLA's description of a “product liability claim” with no accompanying language indicating the KPLA's effect or lack of effect on product liability common law leaves an ambiguity for this court to resolve. Examination of the KPLA's legislative history is therefore necessary.

The Kansas Legislature passed the KPLA in 1981, at least loosely basing it on the Model Uniform Product Liability Act (MUPLA) published by the Department of Commerce in 1979. See 44 Fed. Reg. 62,414–62, 750 (October 31, 1979). The original proposed Senate Bill 165 was almost identical to MUPLA. But the final version of the KPLA is considerably less detailed than MUPLA in scope, definitions, and subsequent sections outlining the liability of manufacturers and product sellers.

The final version of the KPLA contains only seven sections. Section 1 is the title; Section 2 contains definitions; Section 3 covers useful safe life and the statute of repose; Section 4 addresses the defense of compliance with legislative and administrative regulatory standards existing at the time of manufacture; Section 5 concerns limitations on a manufacturer's or seller's duty to warn; Section 6 limits the liability of a seller; and Section 7 discusses circumstances in which evidence of alternative design and subsequent remedial measures is...