Hasson v. Ford Motor Co.

• Decision Date: 16 September 1982
• Citation: 32 Cal.3d 388,185 Cal.Rptr. 654,650 P.2d 1171
• Parties: , 650 P.2d 1171 James M. HASSON, a Minor, etc., et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY, Defendant and Appellant. L.A. 31527
• Court: California Supreme Court

Page 654

185 Cal.Rptr. 654

32 Cal.3d 388, 650 P.2d 1171

James M. HASSON, a Minor, etc., et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY, Defendant and Appellant.

L.A. 31527.

Supreme Court of California

Sept. 16, 1982.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 15, 1982.

Winchester Cooley, III, McCutchen, Black, Verleger & Shea, Los Angeles, for defendant and appellant.

David M. Harney, Harney & Moore, Los Angeles, Ellis J. Horvitz, Horvitz & Greines, Encino, Gerald H. B. Kane, Jr., Redondo Beach, for plaintiffs and appellants.

MOSK, Justice.

Defendant appealed from a substantial jury verdict awarded against it in this product liability action; plaintiffs cross-appealed from the trial court's reduction of the compensatory portion of the award. The Court of Appeal overturned the judgment in its entirety and ordered a new trial on the sole ground of juror misconduct. We granted a hearing primarily to clarify (1) under what circumstances juror inattentiveness during trial proceedings will constitute misconduct requiring a new trial, and (2) what type of evidence may be introduced to establish or rebut claims of juror misconduct. Because the Court of Appeal resolved the juror misconduct issue, albeit incorrectly, it did not reach defendant's remaining assertions of error. As will appear, we conclude that none of defendant's contentions has merit.

One evening in July 1970, James Hasson, then a 19-year-old college freshman, borrowed his father's 1966 Lincoln Continental to take some visiting friends on a tour of portions of the Los Angeles area. He drove his friends to the top of Mount Olympus Drive to see the view. As the car descended, its brakes failed. James' efforts to slow the car by using the emergency brake and by throwing the transmission into reverse proved unavailing, and the vehicle careened down the steep, curving street, eventually crashing into a fountain at the base of the hill. Although the four passengers escaped serious injury, James did not. He suffered a severely fractured skull which caused extensive brain damage and abruptly ended his pursuit of a college education and projected medical career. In addition, he has encountered profound psychological problems and total, permanent physical disability.

James and his father filed suit in 1971 against Ford Motor Company (Ford), the manufacturer of the automobile, and against other defendants for damages sustained as a result of the accident. The trial court submitted the case to the jury on strict liability and negligence theories, and the jury returned a verdict of $1,123,840 against Ford. On a prior appeal, we reversed that judgment because the judge erred in failing to instruct the jury on the defense of contributory negligence, although we found the evidence sufficient to support a verdict against Ford. (Hasson v. Ford Motor Co. (1977) 19 Cal.3d 530, 138 Cal.Rptr. 705, 564 P.2d 857.)

The case was retried in 1978 with Ford the sole defendant and James' negligence no longer a significant issue. Again, the plaintiffs relied on theories of strict liability and negligence. They attempted to prove that the accident was the result of brake failure which occurred when during operation of the vehicle the brake fluid heated up enough to cause it to vaporize. Although the fluid in Hasson's Continental had a boiling point of 555? >>>> F when installed at the factory, it had a boiling point of 304? >>>>> or less when tested after the accident. The reduced boiling point corresponded to a vaporization temperature of only 275? F to 280? >>> F. The reason for the drastic reduction in boiling point--and consequently in the temperature at which brake failure could occur--was that the fluid had a hygroscopic quality; that is, it tended to absorb water vapor. As more moisture was absorbed into the brake fluid, its boiling point became lower. Hasson's experts testified that Ford was aware of the danger of brake failure due to heat-induced fluid vaporization; they expressed the opinion that Ford should have increased the safety of the brake system by measures such as warning dealers and owners to periodically replace used fluid with new fluid having a higher boiling and vaporization point. Alternatively, plaintiffs' experts testified that Ford could have installed a dual master cylinder at minimal cost to prevent complete brake failure in the event of fluid vaporization.

The necessity of proving this highly technical theory of liability caused the retrial to be lengthy and complex. It lasted nearly 3 months, required the calling of 50 witnesses, and generated a reporter's transcript of almost 6,000 pages. Hasson and Ford produced experts who testified in excruciating detail about the design of the brake system installed in 1965 and 1966 Lincoln Continentals, the scientific properties of brake fluid, and measures Ford could or should have taken to alleviate the danger of brake failure. Furthermore, there was extensive proof of James' catastrophic injuries and his years of medical history since the accident.

The jury found Ford to be negligent and strictly liable in tort; it awarded plaintiffs $7,570,719 in compensatory damages and $4,000,000 in punitive damages. After the ensuing judgment, Ford moved for a new trial; it asserted numerous grounds therefor, including several varieties of juror misconduct. The court ruled that the compensatory damages award was excessive and compelled plaintiffs to consent to a reduction of the award to a total of $9,247,719 in order to avoid a new trial. (See Code Civ.Proc., § 662.5, subd. (b).) The other grounds for a new trial were rejected, and judgment was entered for the reduced amount.

I.

Ford mounts a detailed challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence to support each of the findings of the jury, including the existence of negligence or a defect in the brakes on the accident vehicle, causation, and grounds for punitive damages. Ford has skillfully attempted to persuade us that the jury should have accepted its version of the facts. Unfortunately, that effort is largely misdirected.

In 1977, when this court unanimously overturned the first jury verdict against Ford, the majority opinion by Justice Richardson summarized the accepted principles governing appellate review of a jury's factual determinations: "We do not reweigh the evidence on appeal, but rather determine whether, after resolving all conflicts favorably to the prevailing party [citations], and according prevailing parties the benefit of all reasonable inferences [citation], there is substantial evidence to support the judgment." (Hasson v. Ford Motor Co., supra, 19 Cal.3d 530, 544, 138 Cal.Rptr. 705, 564 P.2d 857.) The evidence, viewed in light of these principles, was found to be amply sufficient "to support a determination tht fluid vaporization was a proximate cause of the accident." (Id., at p. 545, 138 Cal.Rptr. 705, 564 P.2d 857.) After a second trial and a second unfavorable jury verdict, Ford's main argument for reversal is an augmented version of the sufficiency claims we previously rejected. Ford's prolix briefs summarize virtually all the evidence adduced at trial and point out its strengths and weaknesses. However, that showing is largely irrelevant to the issue on appeal: whether the evidence in plaintiffs' favor provides a sufficient basis for the jury's findings. Ford's elaborate factual presentation is but an attempt to reargue on appeal those factual issues decided adversely to it at the trial level, contrary to established precepts of appellate review. As such, it is doomed to fail.

The primary theory advanced by plaintiffs at trial was that the design of the disc brake system installed on 1966 Lincoln Continental automobiles was defective because it could potentially generate enough heat during normal operations to cause the brake fluid to vaporize, resulting in total loss of braking capability. Ford introduced the disc brake system on the 1965 Lincoln Continentals, the first time that an American automobile manufacturer had offered disc brakes as standard equipment on a domestic model. The new braking system was considered a breakthrough because it was believed to provide more predictable and dependable braking than the drum brakes then in general use. However, it had one important disadvantage: disc brakes tend to generate tremendous amounts of heat during use. Hydraulically operated brakes rely for their effectiveness on the principle that brake fluid is incompressible, so that an application of pressure to the pedal results in an instantaneous transfer of force to all four wheels, actuating the wheel cylinders which press the brake linings against a revolving rotor, slowing the forward progress of the vehicle. The heat produced by friction between the rotor and the lining must be dissipated into the surrounding atmosphere and the other components of the brake system. In the disc brake system, the wheel cylinders are located very close to the point of contact between the lining and rotor. Therefore, the fluid tends to heat up during application of the brakes. When the fluid reaches a certain temperature, it instantaneously vaporizes and becomes compressible, so that the driver is able to depress the brake pedal all the way to the floorboard without encountering any resistance--and without achieving any braking power.

Fluid vaporization is an insidious cause of brake failure: its symptoms disappear and full pedal returns as soon as the fluid cools down by a few degrees. Thus, an inspection conducted shortly after total brake failure might disclose no indication that fluid boil had occurred.

Shortly after releasing its 1965 Lincoln Continentals, Ford began to receive numerous complaints of brake loss attributable to fluid boil. As a result, all the 1965 models were recalled in an attempt to alleviate the problem. The main modifications were the installation of a dust shield designed to increase the flow of air across the brakes and...