Inman v. Heidelberg Eastern, Inc.

• Citation: 917 F. Supp. 1154
• Decision Date: 29 February 1996
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 93-40523.
• Parties: Thomas INMAN and Linda Inman, Plaintiffs, v. HEIDELBERG EASTERN, INC. a/k/a, EAC USA, Inc., Heidelberg USA, Inc. now also known as Standby USA, Inc., a Delaware corporation; EAC USA, Inc., a/k/a QRX Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, a German corporation; Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Boos & Lauffs GmbH & Co., a German corporation; and Heidelberger Harris GmbH, a German corporation, Jointly and Severally, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

917 F. Supp. 1154

Thomas INMAN and Linda Inman, Plaintiffs, v. HEIDELBERG EASTERN, INC. a/k/a, EAC USA, Inc., Heidelberg USA, Inc. now also known as Standby USA, Inc., a Delaware corporation; EAC USA, Inc., a/k/a QRX Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, a German corporation; Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Boos & Lauffs GmbH & Co., a German corporation; and Heidelberger Harris GmbH, a German corporation, Jointly and Severally, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 93-40523.

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

February 29, 1996.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

James R. Kohl, Plunkett & Cooney, Detroit, MI, for Standby USA Inc.

Margaret A. Lynch, Michael V. Kell, Kell & Lynch, Birmingham, MI, for Linda Inman.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

GADOLA, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Thomas and Linda Inman filed this products liability action seeking damages for injuries Thomas Inman sustained while operating a printing press. Before the court are motions for summary judgment filed by defendants Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Heidelberg Eastern, Inc., EAC USA, Inc. and Heidelberg USA, Inc. a/k/a Standby USA.¹

I. Facts

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG is a manufacturer of printing presses in Heidelberg, Germany. In 1972, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG sold the Heidelberg SORDZ 36", the press which is the subject of this action, to Heidelberg Eastern, Inc. Heidelberg Eastern, Inc. imported the press to the United States and a year later sold the press to Chemical Dynamics, a Chicago firm. In 1977, Chemical Dynamics, through Salan Corporation, sold the press to Thomson Shore.

Thomson Shore employed plaintiff Inman as a printing press operator from 1981 through 1992. In 1992, Inman spent approximately 60% of his time operating the Heidelberg SORDZ 36" press. He had previously trained another printer in its use. On November 11, 1992, plaintiff Thomas Inman suffered injury to his hand and arm while operating the press in the course of his employment.

At the time of the accident, Inman was reaching inside the frame of the press to check the pressure on the water form roller. This operation is referred to as "checking the bounce." There is an adjustment screw (or rod) for checking the bounce on each side of the press. Apparently, Inman checked the bounce on the side of the press nearest to where he was standing and then leaned across the machine to check the bounce on the other side. He slipped and fell into an unguarded, in-running nip point, created by two rollers rotating towards each other. The accident nearly amputated his arm. Defendants argue that Inman should have walked around to the other side of the press in order to check the bounce on the other side. According to plaintiffs, Inman had never been told by Heidelberg, either in its instruction manual or anywhere else, that he had to move to the other side of the press to check the bounce.

Plaintiffs' five count second amended complaint alleges defective design, breach of implied warranty, failure to warn and/or instruct, defective manufacture, and loss of consortium. Before the court are motions for summary judgment filed by defendants Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Heidelberg Eastern, EAC USA, and Heidelberg USA, a/k/a Standby USA.

II. Standard of Review

Under Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment may be granted "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, 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." "A fact is `material' and precludes grant of summary judgment if proof of that fact would have the effect of establishing or refuting one of the essential elements of the cause of action or defense asserted by the parties, and would necessarily affect the application of appropriate principles of law to the rights and obligations of the parties." Kendall v. Hoover Co., 751 F.2d 171, 174 (6th Cir.1984) (quoting Black's Law Dictionary 881 (6th ed. 1979)) (citation omitted). The Court must view the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmovant as well as draw all reasonable inferences in the nonmovant's favor. See United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 994, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962); Bender v. Southland Corp., 749 F.2d 1205, 1210-11 (6th Cir.1984).

The movant bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of all genuine issues of material fact. See Gregg v. Allen-Bradley Co., 801 F.2d 859, 861 (6th Cir.1986). The initial burden on the movant is not as formidable as some decisions have indicated. The moving party need not produce evidence showing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact; rather, "the burden on the moving party may be discharged by `showing' — that is, pointing out to the district court — that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once the moving party discharges that burden, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to set forth specific facts showing a genuine triable issue. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Gregg, 801 F.2d at 861.

To create a genuine issue of material fact, however, the nonmovant must do more than present some evidence on a disputed issue. As the United States Supreme Court stated in Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510-11, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986),

There is no issue for trial unless there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party. If the nonmovant's evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted.

(Citations omitted); see also Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. at 2552-53; Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-56, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). The standard for summary judgment mirrors the standard for a directed verdict under Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a). Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. at 2511. Consequently, a nonmovant must do more than raise some doubt as to the existence of a fact; the nonmovant must produce evidence that would be sufficient to require submission of the issue to the jury. Lucas v. Leaseway Multi Transp. Serv., Inc., 738 F.Supp. 214, 217 (E.D.Mich.1990), aff'd, 929 F.2d 701 (6th Cir.1991). The evidence itself need not be the sort admissible at trial. Ashbrook v. Block, 917 F.2d 918, 921 (6th Cir.1990). However, the evidence must be more than the nonmovant's own pleadings and affidavits. Id.

III. Analysis

A. Motion for Summary Judgment by Heidelberg Druckmaschinen

1. Defective Design

a. Simple Tool

Plaintiffs allege that the press was defective because defendant Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG ("HD") failed to install proper safety devices to protect plaintiff Inman from injury. In its motion for summary judgment, HD argues that it had no duty to make the press more safe because it was a simple tool and the danger to be avoided was open and obvious to all.

The court finds it absurd that HD is seriously attempting to argue that the printing press was a simple tool. The operation manual for the press is several inches thick and the company sends trainers to help customers learn how to use the press. However, because the issue was raised by HD, the court will explain why the press is not a simple tool.

The two part test for determining whether a tool is considered a simple tool under the law is: (1) the product is not highly mechanized, allowing user control; and (2) the intended use of the product does not place the user in an obviously dangerous position. Raines v. Colt Industries, 757 F.Supp. 819, 825 (E.D.Mich.1991). HD admits that the press is mechanized, but argues that a simple tool does not become complex merely because it is mechanized. HD spends significant effort arguing that the tool need only meet one prong of this two part test to be considered a simple tool. Viscogliosi v. Montgomery Elevator Co., 208 Mich. App. 188, 526 N.W.2d 599 (1994). HD attempts to convince this court that the press meets the second prong of the test because its intended use does not place the user in an obviously dangerous position. However, HD also admitted that checking the bounce required placing the operator's hand within seven inches of an unguarded in-running nip point. The court cannot see how HD can argue that this is not dangerous.

HD cites several cases to support its contention that the press is a simple tool. Defendant relies heavily on Viscogliosi, in which a plaintiff tripped on the mechanized walkway at Detroit airport when stepping off the walkway. The court fails to find that a mechanized walkway is similar to the press in the instant action. Even young children know how to properly get onto and step off of a mechanized walkway. In Fisher v. Johnson Milk Co., Inc., 383 Mich. 158, 174 N.W.2d 752 (1970), plaintiff fell and cut his hands when the glass bottles in his wire carrier broke. In Glittenberg v. Doughboy (On Reh.), 441 Mich. 379, 491 N.W.2d 208 (1992), plaintiff was injured while diving into an above-land swimming pool. In Kirk v. Hanes, 771 F.Supp. 856 (E.D.Mich.1992), aff'd 16 F.3d 705 (6th Cir.1994) a child was injured when her brother set fire to her shirt with a disposable lighter. In Adams v. Perry, 198 Mich.App. 1, 497 N.W.2d 514 (1993), lv. app. den'd, 405 Mich. 901 (1993), the court held that a butane lighter was a simple tool. Clearly, none of these products are similar in complexity to the printing press in the instant action. If a large printing press which requires trainers and thick manuals in order to be operated is a simple tool, then almost every product on the market would have to be a simple tool.

HD also argues that the danger of the press was open and obvious and therefore HD did not need to make the press...