Hallmark v. Allied Products Corp.
| Decision Date | 01 June 1982 |
| Docket Number | CA-CIV,No. 1,1 |
| Citation | 646 P.2d 319,132 Ariz. 434 |
| Parties | George B. HALLMARK, a single man, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ALLIED PRODUCTS CORPORATION, a foreign corporation; Bush Hog Continental Gin, a division or subsidiary of Allied Products Corporation, Defendants-Appellees. 5192. |
| Court | Arizona Court of Appeals |
This is an appeal by plaintiff-appellant George B. Hallmark (Hallmark) from the trial court's judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of defendants-appellees Allied Products Corporation and Bush Hog Continental Gin (manufacturer). Hallmark's complaint alleged strict liability based on Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A due to defective design and failure to warn of foreseeable dangers inherent in certain cotton ginning equipment sold by the manufacturer. The complaint also alleged that the particular equipment was negligently installed and supervised by the manufacturer.
On appeal, Hallmark presents four issues:
I. Did the trial court err in refusing to allow the introduction of evidence of subsequent remedial measures taken by the manufacturer?
II. Did the trial court err in failing to grant a new trial based on juror misconduct?
III. Did the trial court err in refusing to admit safety standards contained in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations?
IV. Did the trial court err in instructing the jury?
We find that the trial court did not err and, accordingly, we affirm the judgment in favor of the manufacturer.
We begin with the well-established proposition that on appeal from a judgment entered on a jury verdict, this court must view the evidence in a light most favorable to the prevailing party and must give that party all the reasonable inferences arising from that favorable view of the evidence. McFarlin v. Hall, 127 Ariz. 220, 619 P.2d 729 (1980); Harvey v. Kellin, 115 Ariz. 496, 566 P.2d 297 (1977).
In December of 1976, a salesman for the manufacturer met with the president and general manager of the Yuco Cotton Gin, which is located near Yuma, Arizona. A high-capacity gin with an automatic cotton press was proposed for the Yuco Gin. The cotton press is the particular piece of equipment which is the cornerstone of Hallmark's action. A summary of the operation of this equipment is necessary for disposition of this appeal.
After the farmer brings the cotton from the fields to the gin, it is put through a number of cleaning and drying processes. The cotton then moves through "gin strands" which separate the lint cotton from the cotton seed. The lint cotton is then fed from the gin strands into the cotton press.
At the rear of the cotton press is a compartment known as a "tramper". The lint cotton is compacted into the tramper and a "tramper foot" then pushes the cotton down into a rectangular box located below the floor. When this box is filled to a pre-set amount of pressure, the first cycle in the press operation is complete. A buzzer then sounds and the box rotates automatically 180 degrees from the tramper side to the press side and the corresponding box on the press side rotates back to the tramper side.
The press side is equipped with two large hydraulic rams which compress the cotton into a bale. An automatic device then straps the bale to keep it compressed. A four to five hundred pound bale is then ejected and moved away on a conveyor. As the press side is compacting the cotton into a bale, the tramper side is filled with more cotton. The machine is designed to produce up to thirty bales of cotton per hour automatically.
A partial bale of cotton, known as a "remnant", may remain after a portion of a farmer's crop is ginned and baled. These remnants must be stored and then later combined with more cotton from the same farmer to produce a whole bale. There are several methods of introducing remnants back into the ginning operation. The manufacturer recommends that the remnants be saved until the end of the season, or until times such as rainy days when the gin is not running at full capacity, and that they be combined at that time. Another method is to stop the flow of cotton into the press by raising the gin strands, place the remnants in the tramper side, and then allow the press to proceed through its automatic cycle. A third method involves use of manual controls to put the press in a semi-automatic state, thereby preventing the automatic rotation of the boxes. The gin strands are then raised and the press doors are locked open so that the remnants may be inserted into the press side.
On December 3, 1977, Hallmark and Teddy Gibson, a fellow employee at Yuco Gin, were inserting a remnant in the press side and were pushing it down into the press box with their feet. The press was on automatic cycle and only two of the four gin strands were raised. Nobody was positioned at the manual controls. The buzzer sounded, indicating that the tramper compartment was full and that the boxes were going to rotate. Gibson then jumped out of the box and attempted to stop the press, to no avail. The boxes rotated, thereby trapping Hallmark's leg and causing the injury which is the basis of his action.
Hallmark alleged that the cotton press was defectively designed because it required the operator to insert remnants by standing on top of them, thereby pushing them below the surface of the floor. He further alleged that the press was unreasonably dangerous because it should not have been designed in a manner in which the doors to the compartments could be opened while it was possible for the compartments to rotate. He also alleged that there was inadequate warning that the press would activate itself and rotate automatically. Finally, Hallmark alleged that an employee of the manufacturer who was concerned with installation and operation of the cotton press was negligent in failing to inform him of the proper operation of the equipment.
This appeal followed the jury verdict and judgment in favor of the manufacturer. We will now address those issues raised by Hallmark.
The record indicates that, subsequent to Hallmark's accident, a safety switch was installed at the manual controls which prevented the boxes from rotating when the compartment doors were open. Hallmark contends that his injury would have been prevented if this switch had been present at the time of the accident.
Hallmark attempted to introduce evidence of this "subsequent remedial measure"; however, the trial court refused to allow introduction of such evidence, relying on Rule 407, Rules of Evidence, 17A A.R.S. (Supp.1981), which provides:
Rule 407. Subsequent Remedial Measures
When, after an event, measures are taken, which if taken previously, would have made the event less likely to occur, evidence of the subsequent measures is not admissible to prove negligence or culpable conduct in connection with the event. This rule does not require the exclusion of evidence of subsequent measures when offered for another purpose, such as proving ownership, control, or feasibility of precautionary measures, if controverted, or impeachment.
Hallmark contends that the trial court erred in two respects. First, he argues that the evidence is admissible as to both the negligence and products liability actions because the manufacturer controverted the feasibility of such a device. Second, assuming that the feasibility of the safety device was not controverted, Hallmark argues that the evidence is admissible to prove the existence of a defect in the products liability action because Rule 407 is an exclusionary rule pertaining to negligence actions only.
Hallmark relies on the testimony of Mr. F. H. Strother, vice-president of engineering for Bush Hog Continental Gin, and Mr. Charles M. Merkel, president of Bush Hog Continental Gin, in support of his argument that the feasibility of the safety device was controverted. The pertinent portions of their testimony are set forth below.
Mr. Strother testified as follows:
Q. Isn't there a better way to (insert remnants into the press side) to insure the safety of a man down in the press box? You can't think of any?
A. There can be. This has been discussed earlier. There could have been a device or switch that would keep the boxes from rotating with the door open.
Q. So in other words there could be a device placed on this machine that when the door as depicted in this diagram is open that these boxes won't rotate?
A. That's correct.
Q. That's going to insure that the man down here in this box isn't going to have his legs cut off, isn't it?
A. If the switch does not fail, yes.
Q. Was that technology, what you have just described, was that available at the time this machine was manufactured and sold in 1977?
A. Yes.
Mr. Merkel testified as follows Q. At the time of the manufacture and sale of this equipment was the technology available to you to hook up a device or wire to the doors open button that would in turn be activated by a limit switch, the doors of the press which would in turn connect with the power to the motor that drives the boxes in this press and thereby keeping them from revolving when the doors were locked open?
A. Yes, such-I have heard such testimony and such a device could be provided.
Q. And do you know whether or not that would be a good device to put on to the press of this machine, the press side of this machine?
A. I don't know that I would classify it as good, bad, or indifferent. It could be done.
Q. A simple system of an electric eye that is used on the safety gate could be utilized as a back-up system to the doors open switch, could it not?
A. To answer your question directly, yes, you can put one limit switch on top of...
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