Horton v. Buhrke, a Div. of Klein Tools, Inc., 90-4280
| Decision Date | 18 March 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-4280,90-4280 |
| Citation | 926 F.2d 456 |
| Parties | Donald HORTON and Betty Horton, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. BUHRKE, A DIVISION OF KLEIN TOOLS, INC. and Klein Tools, Inc., Defendants-Appellees, v. AETNA LIFE & CASUALTY COMPANY, Intervenor-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Jennings B. Jones, Jones, Jones & Alexander, Cameron, La., for Horton.
Patrick M. Wartelle, Roy, Carmouche, Bivins, Judice, Henke & Breaud, Lafayette, La., for Aetna.
Thomas W. Lewis, John A. Berry, Boggs, Loehn & Rodrigue, New Orleans, for Buhrke.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
Before JOHNSON, WILLIAMS and HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judges.
Appellants appeal from the denial of a motion for directed verdict, the denial of a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and the judgment in favor of Appellees. This Court affirms in part, and reverses and remands in part.
Plaintiff Donald Horton was employed as a structural iron worker for approximately thirteen years. The duties of a structural iron worker require that work be performed while suspended above the ground. Thus, as a part of his daily routine, Donald Horton used a safety belt. In general terms, a safety belt is strapped around a worker's waist. On each side of the safety belt is a "d-ring." A worker attaches to each d-ring a length of rope equipped with a spring-loaded snap hook at both ends, known as a lanyard. By passing the rope lanyard around an object and fastening the snap hooks to the d-rings of the safety belt, a worker can secure himself to an object above the ground. This enables the worker to work in high places while keeping his hands free.
On June 1, 1987, Donald Horton was working on a section of structural iron when the lanyard snap hook on his safety belt either disengaged or was never properly engaged, causing Donald Horton to fall. The fall resulted in severe injury. Thereafter, Donald Horton and his wife, Betty Horton (collectively, the "Hortons"), brought a products liability action against the manufacturer of the snap hook, Defendant Klein Tools, Inc. ("Klein"). The Hortons also named Buhrke, a division of Klein Tools, Inc., as a defendant, but the district court dismissed the suit against Buhrke for failure to prosecute. Aetna Life & Casualty Company ("Aetna"), the workman's compensation insurer for Donald Horton's employer, intervened to recover medical and compensatory benefits that Aetna paid as a result of Donald Horton's injury.
The suit was tried before a jury. The district court gave the jury a verdict form with a number of special interrogatories. The first interrogatory asked whether the snap hook was unreasonably dangerous to normal use at the time it left the manufacturer's control. After hearing the evidence, the jury answered the first interrogatory in the negative. Because of its response to the first interrogatory, the jury was not required to answer any further questions. The district court entered judgment accordingly in favor of Klein. The Hortons and Aetna (collectively, "Appellants") filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or alternatively, a new trial. The district court denied the motion with written reasons. A timely notice of appeal followed.
Appellants make two arguments on appeal. First, Appellants argue that the district court erred in denying their motion for a directed verdict and their motion requesting judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Second, Appellants argue that the district court failed to adequately instruct the jury or to submit proper interrogatories to the jury.
As an initial matter, it is important to determine whether the Louisiana Products Liability Act ("LPLA"), La.Rev.Stat.Ann. Sec. 9:2800.51 et seq. (West Supp.1990), governs the issues in this action. The LPLA, which took effect on September 1 1988, sets forth certain modifications to the existing strict products liability law. Courts have recognized that while the procedural aspects of the LPLA apply retroactively, the substantive aspects apply prospectively only. Lavespere v. Niagara Mach. & Tool Works, Inc., 920 F.2d 259, 261-262 (5th Cir.), aff'g, 910 F.2d 167 (5th Cir.1990); Berry v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 565 So.2d 487, 491 (La.Ct.App.1990). Since the accident in the instant case occurred June 1, 1987, the provisions of the LPLA which affect substantive rights are inapplicable.
A thorough discussion of Louisiana strict products liability law is found in Halphen v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp., 484 So.2d 110 (La.1986), an opinion authored by the Louisiana Supreme Court. Halphen sets forth the elements of a strict products liability claim and the four theories of recovery. To establish liability against a manufacturer of a product, a plaintiff must show that the harm resulted from the condition of the product, that the condition made the product unreasonably dangerous to normal use, and that the condition existed at the time the product left the manufacturer's control. 484 So.2d at 113. There are four theories of recovery to prove that the product was unreasonably dangerous to normal use: (1) a product may be unreasonably dangerous per se, (2) a product may be unreasonably dangerous in construction or composition, (3) a product may be unreasonably dangerous due to the manufacturer's failure to warn, and (4) a product may be unreasonably dangerous in design. 484 So.2d at 114-15. Under the failure to warn theory, a product may be unreasonably dangerous
if the manufacturer fails to adequately warn about a danger related to the way the product is designed. A manufacturer is required to provide an adequate warning of any danger inherent in the normal use of its product which is not within the knowledge of or obvious to the ordinary user.
484 So.2d at 114-15. Under the design theory, a product may be unreasonably dangerous for one of three reasons: (1) a reasonable person would conclude that the danger-in-fact, whether foreseeable or not, outweighs the utility of the product, (2) although balancing under the risk-utility test leads to the conclusion that the product is not unreasonably dangerous per se, alternative products were available to serve the same needs or desires with less risk of harm, or (3) although the utility of the product outweighs its danger-in-fact, there was a feasible way to design the product with less harmful consequences. 484 So.2d at 115. The determination of whether a product is unreasonably dangerous is a fact question. Goode v. Herman Miller, Inc., 811 F.2d 866, 869 (5th Cir.1987).
The same standard of review applies to the denial of a motion for a directed verdict and the denial of a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Long v. Shultz Cattle Co., 881 F.2d 129, 132 (5th Cir.1989). This Court examines the record in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Boeing Co. v. Shipman, 411 F.2d 365, 374 (5th Cir.1969) (en banc). Reversal of the district court's judgment is proper only if this Court finds that there was no conflict in substantial evidence such that reasonable minds could differ. Id.
In the instant case, Appellants have failed to persuade this Court that no rational jury could have found in favor of Klein. A review of the evidence indicates that there was at least a fact question as to whether Donald Horton's fall resulted from a condition of the snap hook. Appellants attempted to show that a design defect caused the snap hook to accidentally disengage. Notwithstanding, the evidence allowed a conclusion that the accident did not occur because of any design defect, but because Donald Horton failed to properly engage the snap hook. Thus, this Court is unable to find that the district court erred in refusing to grant the motion for directed verdict or the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
While a court is not required to give every correct instruction submitted by a party, a trial court has a duty to instruct the jurors, fully and correctly, on the applicable law of the case. See Pierce v. Ramsey Winch Co., 753 F.2d 416, 424-25 (5th Cir.1985). The duty includes giving an instruction on the law underlying each of a plaintiff's theories of recovery so long as the desired instruction is brought to the court's attention in a timely manner, the desired instruction is legally correct, and the theory is supported by the evidence. Id. at 425 n. 10. Still, a trial court is entitled to considerable latitude in fashioning jury instructions. See Corey v. Jones, 650 F.2d 803, 806 (5th Cir.1981). This Court will reverse only when "the charge as a whole leaves us with substantial and ineradicable doubt whether the jury has been properly guided in its deliberations." Treadaway v. Societe Anonyme Louis-Dreyfus, 894 F.2d 161, 168 (5th Cir.1990) (quoting McCullough v. Beech Aircraft Corp., 587 F.2d 754, 759 (5th Cir.1979)).
Appellants argue that the district court improperly instructed the jury on three aspects of the Hortons' case: foreseeable misuse, comparative negligence, and the relevant strict products liability theories.
Appellants contend that the district court did not inform the jury that normal use includes foreseeable misuse and that a manufacturer is liable for foreseeable misuse. This Court finds no merit in this contention. The district court, in a supplemental charge to the jury, gave the following instruction: "Normal use includes reasonable, foreseeable misuse and a manufacturer is obligated to take in account such misuse in designing its product." This instruction constituted a correct enunciation on the law regarding foreseeable misuse. See Goode, 811 F.2d at 870.
Appellants next contend that the district court erred in charging...
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