Jampole v. Touchy

• Decision Date: 27 June 1984
• Docket Number: No. C-2125,C-2125
• Parties: Stanley JAMPOLE, et al., Relator, v. Hon. Hugo TOUCHY, et al., Respondent.
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

Page 569

673 S.W.2d 569

Stanley JAMPOLE, et al., Relator, v. Hon. Hugo TOUCHY, et al., Respondent.

No. C-2125.

Supreme Court of Texas.

June 27, 1984.

Rehearing Denied July 18, 1984.

W. Douglas Matthews, Timothy F. Lee, Schmidt & Matthews, Houston, for relator.

Fulbright & Jaworski, Frank G. Jones and James B. Sales, Houston, Strasburger & Price, W. Richard Davis, Dallas, for respondent.

ORIGINAL MANDAMUS PROCEEDING

SPEARS, Justice.

In this original mandamus proceeding, Stanley Jampole asks this court to direct Judge Hugo Touchy of the 129th District Court in Harris County to vacate an order denying certain pre-trial discovery. We conditionally grant the writ of mandamus.

Stanley Jampole brought a products liability suit to recover damages for the death of his wife, Judith Goodley Jampole. Mrs. Jampole died from injuries suffered on April 14, 1979, when her 1976 Chevrolet Vega caught fire after being struck from the rear by another automobile. Mr. Jampole sued the driver of the other car, General Motors Corporation, and the Chevrolet Division of General Motors, but only the latter two ("GMC") are affected by this mandamus proceeding.

The type of accident forming the basis of this suit is commonly known as a post-collision, fuel-fed fire. Jampole seeks to hold GMC liable on theories of strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty. He alleges that the 1976 Vega hatchback was defectively designed, manufactured, and marketed. Jampole maintains that placing the fuel tank of the Vega between the rear axle and bumper was unreasonably dangerous. He specifically claims that the design made the tank vulnerable to rear-end impacts, resulting in fuel leaking into the passenger compartment and igniting. Jampole alleges that GMC knew of the defect, risks, and safer alternatives, but did nothing. GMC's alleged knowledge and failure to act are asserted as grounds for punitive and exemplary damages.

Jampole seeks a writ of mandamus requiring Judge Touchy to vacate portions of an order that denied Jampole's motion to compel GMC to answer certain interrogatories and requests for production. Jampole originally sought a writ of mandamus on the same basis against Judge Thomas J. Stovall, who first heard and ruled on Jampole's motion. After this court granted Jampole leave to file his petition for writ of mandamus, Judge Touchy replaced Judge Stovall in the 129th District Court. Jampole properly asked this court to delay action on his petition while he requested that Judge Touchy reconsider Judge Stovall's order. See State v. Olsen, 163 Tex. 449, 360 S.W.2d 402 (1962). Judge Touchy reaffirmed the prior order, and we granted Jampole's motion to amend his petition to substitute Judge Touchy as respondent.

Jampole complains that the trial court's order denied him discovery of the following types of information: (1) evidence of alternate fuel storage system designs that were known to GMC; (2) installation and assembly diagrams and specifications for 1971-77 Chevrolet Vegas and their counterpart Pontiac Astres; (3) documents revealing how GMC planned to comply with proposed federal motor vehicle safety standards that would have imposed more stringent standards for fuel storage system integrity; (4) documents pertaining to experimental, pre-production, and prototype models of the Vega; and (5) a master index listing all crash test reports available to GMC for 1971-77 Vegas and Astres and any vehicles incorporating certain design alternatives.

In deciding whether a writ of mandamus is appropriate, we recognize that mandamus will not issue unless a clear abuse of discretion is shown. West v. Solito, 563 S.W.2d 240 (Tex.1978); Allen v. Humphreys, 559 S.W.2d 798 (Tex.1977); In making this determination, we note that the ultimate purpose of discovery is to seek the truth, so that disputes may be decided by what the facts reveal, not by what facts are concealed. See West v. Solito, 563 S.W.2d 240 (Tex.1978); Pearson Corp. v. Wichita Falls Boys Club Alumni Ass'n, 633 S.W.2d 684 (Tex.App.--Fort Worth 1982, no writ). For this reason, discovery is not limited to information that will be admissible at trial. To increase the likelihood that all relevant evidence will be disclosed and brought before the trier of fact, the law circumscribes a significantly larger class of discoverable evidence to include anything reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of material evidence. Allen v. Humphreys, 559 S.W.2d 798, 803 (Tex.1977); Tex.R.Civ.P. 166b(2). This broad grant is limited, however, by the legitimate interests of the opposing party, for example, to avoid overly-broad requests, harassment, or disclosure of privileged information. See General Motors Corp. v. Lawrence, 651 S.W.2d 732 (Tex.1983).

Barker v. Dunham, 551 S.W.2d 41 (Tex.1977); Crane v. Tunks, 160 Tex. 182, 328 S.W.2d 434 (1959). Furthermore, appellate courts will not intervene to control incidental trial court rulings when there is an adequate remedy by appeal. State Bar v. Heard, 603 S.W.2d 829 (Tex.1980); Werner v. Miller, 579 S.W.2d 455 (Tex.1979); State ex rel. Pettit v. Thurmond, 516 S.W.2d 119 (Tex.1974); Pope v. Ferguson, 445 S.W.2d 950 (Tex.1969). We must first consider, then, whether Judge Touchy clearly abused his discretion by denying the requested discovery.

Jampole filed interrogatories to determine GMC's pre-accident knowledge of alternative designs that would have reduced the risk of fuel escaping from the Vega fuel tank on impact, entering the passenger compartment, and igniting. He specifically requested all impact tests for 1967-79 on vehicles with: (a) above-axle fuel tanks; (b) fuel tanks in other non-production locations; (c) fuel tanks containing flexible liners; (d) fuel tanks that were not made of the standard terne-plated steel (steel coated with a lead/tin alloy); (e) fuel tanks protected by deflector shields; and (f) fuel tanks equipped with break-away filler necks. Several interrogatories also asked about the design and performance of the 1973-75 Opel Kadetts, small cars manufactured by a foreign subsidiary of GMC and designed with an above-axle fuel tank.

The trial court limited discovery to knowledge and information based on records pertaining to 1971-77 Vegas and Astres. The trial court was persuaded that other vehicles were not substantially similar to the Jampoles' 1976 Vega Hatchback; therefore, he concluded that tests on those vehicles were not relevant.

Jampole contends that it was a clear abuse of discretion for the trial court to deny discovery of alternate design documents. Jampole argues that the requested documents are relevant to his strict liability claim because they could show the availability and feasibility of safer alternatives. In Boatland of Houston, Inc. v. Bailey, 609 S.W.2d 743, 746 (Tex.1980), we held that whether a product is defectively designed must be determined in relation to safer alternatives; thus, evidence of the actual use of, or capacity to use, safer alternatives is relevant. See also Ford Motor Co. v. Nowak, 638 S.W.2d 582, 585 (Tex.App.--Corpus Christi 1982, writ ref'd n.r.e.). The basic issue in this lawsuit is whether the 1976 Vega hatchback fuel tank design was defective because it allowed fuel to escape. Other designs that may have prevented fuel escaping are relevant to show that the Vega tank was unreasonably dangerous. Furthermore, the documents showing GMC's knowledge of alternative designs are relevant to show conscious indifference in support of Jampole's claim of gross negligence.

The trial court, in balancing the rights of the parties, took an unduly restrictive view of the degree of similarity necessary for tests on other vehicles to be relevant. The automobiles need not be identical in order for tests on one to be relevant in determining whether the design GMC argues that because the trial judge conscientiously heard argument from both sides, his order is not an abuse of discretion. The issue, however, is not the degree of care exercised. Rather, the focus is on the effect of the trial court's action on the substantial rights of the parties. The order in this case denied clearly relevant information that is crucial to Jampole's cause of action. Furthermore, although it may be proper in complex litigation such as this to grant discovery in phases, there is no statement anywhere in the trial court order purporting to reserve judgment or postpone any ruling. In unequivocal language, the order states that all of GMC's objections were sustained, except those specifically overruled.

of another is defective. Design differences between vehicles that might prevent certain alternatives from being adapted to the hatchback design do not necessarily undermine the relevance or discoverability of documents relating to those alternatives. Whether a safer fuel system design suitable for one vehicle is adaptable to another is a question of feasibility to be decided by the trier of fact, not a question to be resolved in ruling on discovery requests. Moreover, if it were impossible to incorporate a safer design in the fuel system of a 1976 Vega Hatchback, the existence of that design would be relevant to establish liability for failure to warn. The time period requested is not overly broad, and Jampole has limited his request to include only tests on GMC passenger cars. There being no valid claim of privilege or limitation invoked, the trial court's denial was a clear abuse of discretion.

We also reject GMC's argument that because Jampole was free to "come back to the well"--that is, to attempt to persuade the trial court to reconsider--the trial court's action was not an abuse of discretion. First, the statement referred to was not made by Judge Touchy; it was only made by his predecessor, Judge Stovall. Moreover, the trial court's willingness to reconsider does not alter the finality of its ruling. Litigants can always make new arguments that may change the trial court's mind. This does...