Goins v. Clorox Co.

• Decision Date: 26 February 1991
• Docket Number: No. 90-5676,90-5676
• Citation: 926 F.2d 559
• Parties: Prod.Liab.Rep.(CCH)P 12,741 Diane GOINS, Administratrix of Bessie Mae Sheppard, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The CLOROX COMPANY; Boyle-Midway Household Products, Inc., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 559

926 F.2d 559

Prod.Liab.Rep.(CCH)P 12,741

Diane GOINS, Administratrix of Bessie Mae Sheppard Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The CLOROX COMPANY; Boyle-Midway Household Products, Inc. Defendants-Appellees.

No. 90-5676.

United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

Argued Jan. 24, 1991.

Decided Feb. 26, 1991.

Steven Oberman, Daniel & Oberman, Jerrold L. Becker (argued), Lockridge & Becker, Knoxville, Tenn., for Diane Goins.

Joseph N. Clarke, Jr., Stephen P. Parsons (argued), Wagner, Myers & Sanger, Knoxville, Tenn., for the Clorox Co.

Johanna J. McGlothlin, Foster D. Arnett, Arnett, Draper & Hagood, Knoxville, Tenn., for Boyle-Midway Household Products, Inc.

Before MARTIN and KRUPANSKY, Circuit Judges, and PECK, Senior Circuit Judge.

BOYCE F. MARTIN, Jr., Circuit Judge.

Diane Goins, who is the administratrix of her mother Bessie Mae Sheppard's estate, appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment to the defendants, the Clorox Company and Boyle-Midway Household Products, Inc., in this products liability action predicated on Tennessee diversity jurisdiction. We affirm.

On January 23, 1988, Mrs. Bessie Mae Sheppard was visiting the home of her friend, Mrs. Barbara Large, in Lenoir City, Tennessee. While at Mrs. Large's home, Sheppard and Large attempted to clear a clogged drain in the kitchen. Sheppard began this effort because she had some previous experience and had helped her former husband in his plumbing business. The two first attempted to clear the drain using a plunger. When this failed, they poured Drano and Liquid Plumr, a product manufactured by Clorox, into the drain. The drain remained clogged, so they added Sani-Flush, a toilet bowl cleaner manufactured by Boyle-Midway Household Products, Inc. Mrs. Sheppard first sprinkled a small number of Sani-Flush crystals into the drain; a small puff of smoke appeared, prompting Mrs. Large to suggest that they leave the sink alone. Sheppard persisted, however, and while attempting to add a few more crystals she inadvertently allowed a "big glob" of Sani-Flush to enter the drain. A large cloud of grey smoke immediately arose from the drain, burning the lungs of both women and driving them from the house. Mrs. Sheppard, who suffered from a pre-existing respiratory condition, was unable to regain her normal breathing pattern and later died at a local emergency room of cardiac arrest.

Ms. Goins filed suit in the Eastern District of Tennessee. On her own behalf, Ms. Goins claimed that the defendants' defective products deprived her of the society and companionship of her mother. As a representative of the estate of her mother, Goins alleges that the defendants proximately caused her mother's death by failing to provide adequate labels or warnings on the packaging of the products at issue. Specifically, she claims that the labels provided were not adequate to appraise the consumer of either the nature or the severity of the risk involved in using the defendants' products. Although the precise language of the labels is impossible to determine because the containers were not available, the district court accepted Goins's submission of photocopied labels of other Liquid Plumr and Sani-Flush containers.

The lower court dismissed Ms. Goins's action in her individual capacity for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Ms. Goins concedes this point without appeal. The court also granted summary judgment to the defendants on the claims brought on behalf of Mrs. Sheppard's estate. The court found that the plaintiff could not carry her burden of showing proximate causation between her mother's injury and the allegedly defective labels because both labels explicitly warned of the danger at issue, (The Liquid Plumr container cautions, "Do not use with toilet bowl cleaners ... release of hazardous gases may occur," while the Sani-Flush packaging warns of "harmful fumes"), and because the plaintiff had presented no proof that her mother had ever read those labels. Ms. Goins appeals the grant of summary judgment alleging that the district court erred in not presenting the question of inadequate labeling to jury, claiming that a material question of fact exists as to proximate causation.

As always, we apply a de novo standard when reviewing a grant of summary judgment. EEOC v. University of Detroit, 904 F.2d 331, 334 (6th Cir.1990). Summary judgment should be granted only if, based on the record as a whole and viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, there is no genuine issue as to any material fact. Kochins v. Linden-Alimak, Inc., 799 F.2d 1128, 1133 (6th Cir.1986). Once the moving party has presented evidence sufficient to support a motion for summary judgment, the nonmoving party is not entitled to trial merely on the basis of allegations; significant probative evidence must be presented to support the complaint. Gregg v. Allen-Bradley Co., 801 F.2d 859, 861 (6th Cir.1986).

As we look to Tennessee law on this subject, we find a fairly stiff standard. The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that a product was in a defective condition or otherwise unreasonably dangerous by reason of the manufacturer's failure to provide an adequate warning informing users of the dangers of that product. Higgs v. General Motors Corp., 655 F.Supp. 22, 23 (E.D.Tenn.1985), aff'd. sub nom. Thomas v. Subaru of America., Inc., 815 F.2d 80 (6th Cir.1987); Young v. Reliance Electric Company, 584 S.W.2d 663, 668 (Tenn.Ct.App.1979). Whether a warning is adequate is usually a question for the jury unless reasonable minds could not disagree on the outcome. Y...