Klein v. General Elec. Co., 50040
Decision Date | 22 July 1986 |
Docket Number | No. 50040,50040 |
Citation | 714 S.W.2d 896 |
Parties | Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 11,085 Richard KLEIN and Virginia Klein, Plaintiffs, v. GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, Defendant. |
Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Gerald D. Morris, Shepherd, Sandberg & Phoenix, Atty., St. Louis, for defendant.
Anthony S. Bruning, Leritz, Reinert & Duree, P.C., St. Louis, for plaintiffs.
Defendant, General Electric Company, appeals from a judgment based on a jury verdict of $600,000 in favor of the plaintiffs. This product liability action is founded on the theory of strict liability and is brought by the Kleins for the damages to their home caused by a fire originating in an automatic coffeemaker manufactured by the General Electric Company (hereinafter defendant). Defendant raises numerous points on appeal. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
On December 24, 1980, a fire broke out in the Richard Klein home at approximately 7:50 a.m. The events preceding the fire are as follows: On December 23, 1980, the evening before the fire, the Kleins and three of their children were at home after 10:30 p.m. Mr. Klein and the youngest son retired for the evening at approximately 11:30 p.m. Mrs. Klein and her two daughters talked in the kitchen until approximately 1:30 a.m. at which time the daughters went to bed. Mrs. Klein retired approximately 20 minutes later after straightening up the house and setting the coffeemaker to brew coffee at 7:15 a.m.
On December 24, 1980, Mr. Klein arose at approximately 7:00 a.m. He proceeded into the living room to turn on the Christmas tree lights. He remained in the living room approximately 7 to 10 minutes before returning to the master bedroom to rest. Upon returning to the master bedroom, Mr. Klein shut the door to the bedroom which led into the living room. After resting for an additional 15 minutes, Mr. Klein entered the master bathroom and proceeded to take a shower.
At approximately 7:50 a.m., Mrs. Klein was awakened by the home fire alarm. She jumped out of bed, opened the bedroom door, and saw the rooms of the house filled with smoke and a glow of light coming from the kitchen. Mr. and Mrs. Klein and the three children escaped from the home without injury.
Mrs. Klein had purchased the Brew Starter automatic coffeemaker Model DCM15, manufactured by the defendant, approximately six months prior to the fire. No repairs or maintenance work had been performed on the coffeemaker prior to the fire and it had always operated normally.
The City of Frontenac responded to the fire at approximately 7:53 a.m. Fire Chief Robert S. Bongner, who was in charge of putting out the fire, testified that he inspected the home shortly after the fire and concluded that the source of the fire was the coffeemaker located in the kitchen of the house. He based his opinion on several findings: the burn pattern found on the walls, cabinets and counter area of the kitchen; the scorched counter top directly underneath the coffeemaker; the fusion of the coffeemaker to the countertop; the unburned countertop located underneath the can opener which sat to the left of the coffeemaker; and the unburned paper found in the wastebasket located on the floor to the right of the coffeemaker.
Plaintiffs' experts, John F. Kennedy, a fire recreation expert, and Robert Freund, a consulting electrical engineer, testified that, in their opinion, the fire originated in the coffeemaker. Their opinion was based on their inspection of the remains of the coffeemaker, the can opener, photographs of the kitchen, and the results of two laboratory experiments conducted to determine the burn characteristics of a Brew Starter automatic coffeemaker Model DCM15.
The plaintiffs' experts were unable to pinpoint a defect in the Klein's coffeemaker because of the destruction to the coffeemaker during the fire. They, however, noted potential defects in the construction and design of the Brew Starter automatic coffeemaker Model DCM15 manufactured by defendant. As a result of the design defect, the experts concluded that the coffeemaker malfunctioned and that the fire started in the coffeemaker and subsequently spread throughout the Klein's home. The experts were able to negate other possible causes of the fire in the Klein's home, namely the wastebasket and the can opener.
On appeal, defendant contends that the trial court erred when it denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict because the plaintiffs failed to present sufficient substantial evidence to submit the case to the jury. Specifically, defendant asserts that the plaintiffs failed to present evidence that the coffeemaker was defective and that the coffeemaker was the source of the fire which damaged the plaintiffs' home.
Missouri courts have adopted the doctrine of strict liability in tort as set forth in the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (1965). Keener v. Dayton Electric Manufacturing Co., 445 S.W.2d 362 (Mo.1969). Thus, one who sells a "product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer ... is subject to liability" for injury to the user or the user's property caused by the defect. Keener v. Dayton Electric Manufacturing Co., supra, at 364. To prevail under the doctrine of strict liability in tort, the plaintiffs must prove that the product was defective and dangerous when put to a reasonable use anticipated by the manufacturer and that the plaintiff sustained damage as a direct result of the defect. Blevins v. Cushman Motors, 551 S.W.2d 602, 607 (Mo. banc 1977).
The evidence will be considered in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, with all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, and we will disregard the defendant's evidence unless it aids the plaintiffs' case. Winters v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., 554 S.W.2d 565, 569-70 (Mo.App.1977).
First we must determine whether the plaintiffs presented sufficient substantial evidence to the jury that the coffeemaker was defective. The plaintiffs must prove that there was a defect in the product which existed when the product left the manufacturer's control and entered the stream of commerce and that the product was put to a use reasonably anticipated by the manufacturer. Keener v. Dayton Electric Manufacturing Company, supra, at 365.
The existence of a defect may be inferred from circumstantial evidence with or without the aid of an expert witness. Winters v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., supra, at 570. The testimony of an expert that a defect in a product was the probable cause of an incident may constitute substantial evidence such that a jury could find that the incident in question resulted from a defect in a product rather than from other causes. Lifritz v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., 472 S.W.2d 28, 32 (Mo.App.1971). Our court held that an expert witness' personal observation of a fire scene and his investigation of the remains of a burned television set, in addition to the testimony of homeowners who witnessed the fire coming from the television set, constituted substantial evidence that the fire which originated in the television set was the result of a defect. Winters v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., supra, at 570.
In the case before us, there was substantial competent evidence from which a jury could find that the fire was the result of a defect in the Klein's coffeemaker. Mrs. Klein set the coffeemaker to brew coffee at 7:15 a.m. When Mr. Klein awoke at approximately 7:00 a.m., there was no fire present. The fire alarm rang at approximately 7:50 a.m., some 35 minutes after the coffeemaker was set to start brewing coffee. The plaintiffs' expert, Mr. Freund, an electrical engineer, testified that in his opinion the coffeemaker was defective. He testified that the defect in the coffeemaker was in the safety device which shuts off the electricity to the coffeemaker when the temperature in the coffeemaker reaches an unsafe level. If the safety device is placed in a position within the coffeemaker where it is unable to detect temperature, the electricity will continue to flow and the heating component will continue to generate heat causing ignition of the coffeemaker. Mrs. Klein testified that she had purchased the coffeemaker six months prior to the fire and that it had been used as intended by the defendant. The coffeemaker had never malfunctioned and had never been serviced.
We find that there was sufficient evidence presented that a jury could find that the coffeemaker was defective when sold by the defendant and that the coffeemaker had been put to a reasonably anticipated use.
In addition, defendant contends that the plaintiffs failed to establish that the coffeemaker was the source of the fire. We find there was competent and substantial evidence from which a jury could find that the fire, which damaged the Klein's home, started in the coffeemaker. Mrs. Klein set the coffeemaker to automatically brew coffee at 7:15 a.m. There was no evidence that the fire was present in the Klein's home at 7:00 a.m. Mrs. Klein was awakened at 7:50 a.m. to find the rooms of the house filled with smoke and a glow of light coming from the kitchen. Defendant's expert, Mr. Donald G. Schultz, an electrical engineer, testified that he conducted a burn experiment in which he determined that a Brew Starter coffeemaker Model DCM15 will ignite 25 minutes and 50 seconds after it is set to brew if the safety device fails. The fire alarm awoke Mrs. Klein 35 minutes after the coffeemaker was set to brew coffee.
Additionally, Chief Bongner testified that, in his opinion, the coffeemaker was the source of the fire because it was fused to the countertop, and because the burn patterns in the kitchen led directly to the coffeemaker. Plaintiffs' experts, John F. Kennedy, a fire recreation expert, and Robert Freund, an electrical engineer also testified that, in their opinion, the fire originated in the...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
IN RE DISASTER AT DETROIT METROPOLITAN AIRPORT AUG. 1987
...the rule of strict liability in tort as set forth in the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (Restatement). See Klein v. General Electric Co., 714 S.W.2d 896 (Mo.App.1986); Blevins v. Cushman Motors, 551 S.W.2d 602, 607 (Mo.1977) (en banc); Keener v. Dayton Electric Manufacturing Co., 445 ......
-
St. Louis Cnty. v. River Bend Estates Homeowners' Ass'n
... ... Moore v. Ford Motor Co., 332 S.W.3d 749, 756 (Mo. banc 2011). This Court gives ... See Union Elec. Co. v. Metro. St. Louis Sewer Dist., 258 S.W.3d 48, 57 ... that the testimony of such experts be limited to general application of Chesterfield's development requirements, ... ...
-
Welkener v. Kirkwood Drug Store Co., 52057
...damages as a direct result of the defect. Blevins v. Cushman Motors, 551 S.W.2d 602, 607 (Mo. banc 1977); Klein v. General Elec. Company, 714 S.W.2d 896 (Mo.App.1986). The whole purpose of "products liability law, essentially, is to socialize the losses caused by defective products." Lippar......
-
State ex rel. Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. v. Ryan
...It is recognized that the trial court is vested with broad discretion in administering the rules of discovery. Klein v. General Elec. Co., 714 S.W.2d 896, 906 (Mo.App.1986), and the appellate court should not disturb the rulings absent an abuse of discretion. State ex rel. Kuehl v. Baker, 6......
-
Burley v. Kytec Innovative Sports Equipment, Inc.: expert testimony in strict products liability cases in South Dakota.
...Id at 1111-12. (177.) Id at 1115. (178.) Sappington v. Skyjack, Inc., 512 F.3d 440, 447 (8th Cir. 2008) (citing Klein v. Gen. Flee. Co., 714 S.W.2d 896 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986)); Hickerson v. Pride Mobility Prods. Corp., 470 F.3d 1252, 1258 (8th Cir. 2006); Taylor v. Cooper Tire and Rubber Co., ......
-
§1004 Admissibility of Other Evidence of Contents
...bear[s] upon a fundamental issue in the case," State v. Hedges, 193 S.W.3d 784, 788 (Mo. App. E.D. 2006); see: · Klein v. Gen. Elec. Co., 714 S.W.2d 896, 903 (Mo. App. E.D. 1986) · Lewis v. Bucyrus-Erie, Inc., 622 S.W.2d 920, 924 (Mo. banc 1981) · Wilborn v. Williams, 555 S.W.2d 44, 45 (Mo.......
-
§704 Opinion on an Ultimate Issue
...and very heavy equipment such as the D-500 dozer are outside the routine experience of the average juror") · Klein v. Gen. Elec. Co., 714 S.W.2d 896, 900 (Mo. App. E.D. 1986) (expert testimony that a fire was caused by a defect in a coffeemaker was admissible) · Winters v. Sears, Roebuck & ......
-
Section 10.6 Evidence of Character and Conduct of Witnesses
...the commission of particular wrongful or immoral acts that are collateral to the principal controversy. Klein v. Gen. Elec. Co., 714 S.W.2d 896, 905 (Mo. App. E.D. 1986). Accordingly, credibility of a witness for truthfulness cannot be attacked by showing specific acts of immorality or by s......