Kirk v. Ford Motor Co.

• Decision Date: 23 June 2005
• Docket Number: No. 30322.,30322.
• Citation: 116 P.3d 27,141 Idaho 697
• Parties: Grant R. KIRK, a personal representative of the Estate of Kyle R. Kirk, and Roger Humphrey, as personal representative of the Estate of Bret A. Humphrey, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY, Defendant-Respondent.
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

116 P.3d 27

141 Idaho 697

Grant R. KIRK, a personal representative of the Estate of Kyle R. Kirk, and Roger Humphrey, as personal representative of the Estate of Bret A. Humphrey, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY, Defendant-Respondent.

No. 30322.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Boise, April 2005 Term.

June 23, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Turner & Associates, P.S., Little Rock, Arkansas; Irvin, Myklebust, Savage & Brown, P.S., Pullman, Washington, attorneys for appellants. David W. Savage argued.

Huie, Fernambucq & Stewart, Birmingham, Alabama; Wheeler Trigg & Kennedy, PC, Denver, Colorado; Winston & Cashatt, Spokane, Washington, attorneys for respondent. Meriwether D. (Mike) Williams argued.

SCHROEDER, Chief Justice.

Grant R. Kirk & Roger Humphrey (the Kirks) appeal from a judgment entered pursuant to a jury verdict in favor of Ford Motor Company (Ford) in a product liability suit involving a 1991 Mazda Navajo. Ford cross-appeals.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On July 19, 1999, Kyle R. Kirk (Kyle) was driving westbound on Interstate 90, a paved highway in Spokane County, Washington. He was apparently traveling about 85 miles per hour when the 1991 Mazda Navajo he was driving drifted onto the shoulder of the road. Bret A. Humphrey (Bret), was a passenger in the front seat, and Stacey Wagner (Stacey), was a passenger in the rear seat. Apparently, Bret, the front seat passenger, grabbed the steering wheel and attempted to correct the path of the vehicle, but the vehicle swerved out of control and rolled over. Kyle and Bret were ejected from the vehicle and killed. Stacey was also ejected but survived with serious injuries. Less than twenty days prior to the accident, Kyle had purchased the used Navajo from a Ford dealership in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

On July 16, 2001, the estates of Kyle and Bret filed suit against Ford and Mazda Motor Company of America, Inc. (Mazda). The Kirks sued on theories of negligence, strict liability and failure to adequately warn the occupants of the vehicle's unreasonable propensity to rollover during foreseeable driving maneuvers. The Navajo was manufactured by Ford but marketed by Mazda. Because there were no material differences between the 1991 Navajo and the 1991 Explorer, Mazda was dismissed from the suit. The dismissal stipulated that the lawsuit would be tried as though the vehicle carried the Explorer name and no party would implicate Mazda in the litigation.

On June 11, 2003, the Kirks filed a motion in limine to preclude all evidence related to seatbelt use. The Kirks stipulated that they were not bringing any crashworthiness claims or allegations the vehicle's occupant restraint system was defective. The district judge granted the motion (Seatbelt Order). The Seatbelt Order prohibited the introduction of any information regarding the use or non-use of seatbelts by the occupants absent court approval through a supplemental motion or a hearing outside the presence of the jury. The Seatbelt Order also acknowledged that the litigation would not involve any crashworthiness claims.

On August 14, 2003, the Kirks moved to amend their complaint to add a claim for punitive damages. The district court granted the motion. The Kirks' amended complaint added punitive damages and spoliation claims. The spoliation claim alleged that Ford had intentionally destroyed internal data, referred to as ADAMS data, regarding the propensity of the 1991 Explorer to rollover. The Kirks subsequently moved to compel production of Ford Suspension Orders (Suspension Orders) issued by Ford's Office of General Counsel (OGC) concerning the handling of the ADAMS data.

The district court ordered an in-camera review of the Suspension Orders and denied the motion. The court allowed both parties to present direct evidence on the testing Ford had done and the destruction of the underlying ADAMS data but prohibited the parties from raising any issue at trial implicating the Suspension Orders. The Kirks stipulated to a dismissal of the spoliation claim as an independent cause of action.

On November 4, 2001, following the Kirks' case-in-chief, Ford moved for a directed verdict. The court denied the motion. At that hearing Ford indicated that it would call Edward Moffatt, Ph.D (Moffatt), a biochemist, as an expert witness, indicating Moffatt would testify that the vehicle's occupants were unrestrained prior to the rollover and that had they been restrained they would have (1) not been ejected, (2) suffered substantially less injuries, and (3) all survived. Some of the discussion at that hearing related to the relevance of the seatbelt testimony in light of the punitive damages claim made by the Kirks. The Kirks stated no objection to the proposed testimony at that time. Moffatt testified the next day consistent with Ford's disclosure. The Kirks did not object to Moffatt's testimony regarding seatbelt evidence and stipulated in front of the jury the decedents were unbelted prior to the crash.

Following Ford's presentation of evidence, the Kirks retained Martha Bidez, Ph.D (Bidez), a seatbelt and occupant kinematics expert, as a rebuttal witness. During a proffer in chambers, the Kirks stated Bidez would testify that the vehicle's seatbelts (1) were not adequately designed, (2) had been recalled, and (3) would not have prevented Kyle and Bret's fatalities. The district court ordered that Bidez' testimony be limited to evidence the decedents would have died in the vehicle regardless of the seatbelts. Bidez was not allowed to testify as to the alleged defective design of the belts.

At the close of trial the district court gave a limiting instruction, Jury Instruction No. 11, which instructed the jurors they could not consider the use of seatbelts in evaluating either alleged contributory negligence of the decedents or causal issues related to their deaths. The jury was instructed that it could consider the fact the vehicle was equipped with functional seatbelts for the purpose of determining whether the overall design of the vehicle was unreasonably dangerous. The jury returned a special verdict in favor of Ford on all claims. Ford filed a request for costs as a matter of right and discretionary costs. The district court awarded Ford $25,213.31 in costs as a matter of right and $1,312.50 in discretionary costs for a total award of $26,525.81. The Kirks appealed and filed a motion for new trial, which the district court denied. Ford cross-appealed the amount of the award of discretionary costs. This Court dismissed the cross-appeal.

The Kirks contend the district court erred in allowing Ford to introduce evidence the decedents were unbelted prior to the rollover, delaying in its ruling on the admissibility of seatbelt evidence, giving Jury Instruction No. 11, limiting the rebuttal testimony of Bidez, failing to order production of the Suspension Orders, and precluding the Kirks from eliciting evidence at trial that Ford had destroyed the ADAMS data contrary to its own Corporate Records Management Manual (CRMM) and Suspension Orders, Ford disputes each of these claims.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Trial courts have broad discretion over the admission of evidence at trial, including expert testimony, and in determining whether or not to grant a motion to compel. I.R.C.P. 37(a)(2)(2004); Karlson v. Harris, 140 Idaho 561, 564, 97 P.3d 428, 431 (2004)(trial courts have broad discretion in the admission of expert testimony)(citing Basic Amer., Inc. v. Shatila, 133 Idaho 726, 743, 992 P.2d 175, 191 (1999)); Storm v. Spaulding, 137 Idaho 145, 149, 44 P.3d 1200, 1204 (Ct.App.2002)(trial court's supervision of discovery is wholly discretionary) (citation omitted). Such decisions will only be reversed when there has been a clear abuse of discretion. Karlson, 140 Idaho at 564, 97 P.3d at 431 (citation omitted); Storm, 137 Idaho at 149, 44 P.3d at 1204. In reviewing whether or not a district court abused its discretion this Court determines:

(1) whether the trial court correctly perceived the issue as one of discretion; (2) whether the trial court acted within the outer boundaries of its discretion and consistently with the legal standards applicable to the specific choices available to it; and (3) whether the trial court reached its decision by an exercise of reason.

Sun Valley Shopping Ctr. v. Idaho Power Co., 119 Idaho 87, 94, 803 P.2d 993, 1000 (1991).

Appellate courts exercise free review over the question of whether a jury has been properly instructed. The standard of review for issues concerning jury instructions is limited to a determination whether the instructions, as a whole, fairly and adequately present the issues and state the law. When the instructions, taken as a whole, do not mislead or prejudice a party, an erroneous instruction does not constitute reversible error.

Vendelin v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 140 Idaho 416, 432, 95 P.3d 34, 50 (2004)(internal citations omitted).

III. THE KIRKS WAIVED OBJECTION TO THE ADMISSION OF SEATBELT EVIDENCE

In 1988 the legislature added Idaho Code § 49-673(8), which states:

The failure to use a safety restraint shall not be considered under any circumstances as evidence of contributory or comparative negligence, nor shall such failure be admissible as evidence in any civil action with regard to negligence.

I.C. § 49-673(8)(2004). This statute codified the common law rule that evidence of seatbelt use or non-use is inadmissible to show contributory negligence or a failure to mitigate damages in an automobile negligence action. Quick v. Crane, 111 Idaho 759, 780, 727 P.2d 1187, 1208 (1986); Hansen v. Howard O. Miller, Inc., 93 Idaho 314, 318, 460 P.2d 739, 743 (1969). According to Quick, "[t]he reason for this rule is the lack of connection between failure to wear a seat belt and the occurrence of the accident." Quick, 111 Idaho at 780, 727 P.2d at 1208 (citing Hansen, 93 Idaho at 318, 460 P.2d at 743; Barry v. Coca Cola Co., 99 N.J.Super. 270, 239...