Lenoir v. C. O. Porter Machinery Co.

• Decision Date: 15 April 1982
• Docket Number: No. 80-3670,80-3670
• Parties: Percy LENOIR, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. C. O. PORTER MACHINERY COMPANY and Buss Automation, Inc., Defendants-Appellees. . Unit A *
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 1240

672 F.2d 1240

Percy LENOIR, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. C. O. PORTER MACHINERY COMPANY and Buss Automation, Inc. Defendants-Appellees.

No. 80-3670.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Unit A ^*

April 15, 1982.

James N. Compton, Biloxi, Miss., for plaintiff-appellant.

Sumrall & Thaxton, Anthony L. Thaxton, Laurel, Miss., for defendants-appellees.

Kenneth E. Bullock, Laurel, Miss., for Buss Automation, Inc.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Before BROWN and GOLDBERG, Circuit Judges. ^**

JOHN R. BROWN, Circuit Judge:

This tort action was brought by Percy Lenoir against C. O. Porter Machinery Co. (Porter), Buss Automation, Inc. (Buss), and several other defendants who were voluntarily dismissed prior to trial. Lenoir lost his left hand and forearm when his arm was caught in a planer ("Surfacemaster") manufactured by Porter. Buss manufactured the conveyor leading into the planer and designed the layout of the woodworking area where the accident occurred. At the conclusion of Lenoir's case at trial, which based liability upon strict liability in tort, implied warranty, and negligence, the District Court granted a directed verdict in favor of Buss on all issues, and a directed verdict to Porter as to strict liability and implied warranty. The negligence issue was submitted to the jury, and a verdict was returned for Porter. Lenoir's motion for a new trial was denied. Under the standard enunciated in Boeing Co. v. Shipman, 411 F.2d 365 (5th Cir. 1969) (en banc), we find that the directed verdict in favor of Porter on the issue of strict liability in tort was improper, and thus we reverse and remand on that issue. As to Porter's ordinary negligence, an issue tried by the jury, we find reversible error in the District Court's instructions to the jury, and thus reverse and remand. The directed verdict in favor of Porter on the issue of implied warranty is not questioned in this appeal, and we affirm. Lenoir also appeals from several evidentiary rulings by the District Court. Some of Lenoir's claims merit our attention, and will be discussed, but these issues are not dispositive because we reverse and remand the jury verdict on the basis of confusing jury instructions.

As to Buss, under the standard in Boeing, supra, we find that the directed verdict on the issue of strict liability in tort was improper, and we reverse and remand on that issue. Likewise, we find that the directed verdict in favor of Buss on the issue of ordinary negligence was improper, and we reverse and remand. Finally, we affirm the directed verdict in favor of Buss on the warranty claim since this ruling is not questioned on appeal by Lenoir.

Background

This unfortunate accident occurred when Lenoir, an employee of Tylertown Wood Products Plant in Mississippi, caught his glove on a board on the conveyor belt of a wood planer, which resulted in his hand going into the front of the planer. The damages that Lenoir established at trial are not at issue here. Briefly, he was standing several feet away from the planer, facing the conveyor belt, pushing away the boards that were stacked up in front of him on their way to the planer. When a board caught the side of his glove and pulled it toward the planer, Lenoir attempted to free the glove by stepping "downstream," toward the planer, and was allegedly pulled into the planer by the pin mechanism which propelled the boards through the planer. At trial, it was argued that the planing machine sold by Porter as well as the conveyor system designed and partially manufactured by Buss ¹ were unreasonably dangerous and therefore defective. In reply to the defendants' observation that a "limit bar", which acted as a safety device, had been removed by Lenoir's employer, Lenoir argued that the limit bar was not a safety device, and added that without side shields a hazardous condition persisted with or without the limit bar. Even if it was characterized as a safety device, it was allegedly inadequate. Lenoir's expert witness at trial suggested that, in addition to the design defects, there was a failure to warn on the part of the manufacturer of the planer.

The Porter "Surfacemaster"

The Surfacemaster Facing Planer is one type of woodworking machine manufactured by Porter and sold throughout the United States. When Lenoir's employer purchased the planer, it was placed in the plant about 26 feet from the cutoff saw area, such that boards traveled on a conveyor from the cutoff saw area to and through the planer onto another conveyor. The planer was conveyor-fed and required no operator to run the machine. The planer was designed in 1948 and, with the exception of minor modifications, has remained the same operational product to the present day. ²

The planer itself is approximately five feet high, eight feet long, and four feet wide. Rough boards, up to eight inches thick, are leveled in the planer-boards of approximately two to three inches thick were being run on the day of the accident. The planer came equipped with a limit bar located on the front just above the infeed area, extending outward 101/2 inches over the conveyor, and 45 inches wide (extending from side to side of the planer). According to Porter, the principal functions of the limit bar were (i) to limit accessibility into the infeed area by sweeping off boards piled on top of the board to be leveled, and (ii) to turn off automatically the planer if boards thicker than intended were on the conveyor, or if two boards were wedged on the conveyor. ³ This limit bar had been removed by Lenoir's employer before the day of the accident.

When a board traveling on the conveyor reached the infeed table, feeder teeth came in contact with the board and moved it down the table across a high speed cutter head which leveled the bottom of the board. The feeder teeth assembly consisted of a number of rotating bars with spring loaded pins or teeth staggered on them. The pins held the boards in place and forced them across the cutter head. These teeth were enclosed on all sides, and were located about 12 inches inside the infeed entrance.

The arrangement of the conveyors made it expedient for a person to work at the point where boards were dropped onto the conveyor leading directly into the planer to unscramble the boards, turn the "cup" of the board down, and spread the boards across the width of the conveyor for even wear of the cutter head. ⁴

Porter maintains on appeal that the machine is not inherently dangerous when used for its intended purpose. Moreover, it argues, the infeed limit bar obviated the need to have someone near the planer feeding boards into it, and removal of the limit bar substantially changed the character of the machine. Any dangers associated with the use of the planer, the argument continues, were open and obvious to anyone working nearby. Porter concludes that because no credible evidence existed that the planer was defective or was in the same condition at the time of the accident as when it left the hands of Porter, the planer was not the cause of the accident.

Directed Verdict as to Porter

In Boeing Co. v. Shipman, 411 F.2d 365, 374 (5th Cir. 1969) (en banc), this Court set the standard for review of a directed verdict:

On motion for directed verdict ... the Court should consider all of the evidence-not just that evidence which supports the non-mover's case-but in the light and with all reasonable inferences most favorable to the party opposed to the motion. If the facts and inferences point so strongly and overwhelmingly in favor of one party that the Court believes that reasonable men could not arrive at a contrary verdict, granting of the motion is proper. On the other hand, if there is substantial evidence opposed to the motions, that is, evidence of such quality and weight that reasonable and fair-minded men in the exercise of impartial judgment might reach different conclusions, the motions should be denied, and the case submitted to the jury.

The first major issue on this appeal is whether the District Court erred in granting the directed verdict for Porter with regard to its strict liability in tort.

To establish his cause of action, Lenoir had to prove that he was injured from a defect in a product that rendered it unreasonably dangerous, and that the defect existed when the product left the manufacturer. Price v. Admiral Corp., 527 F.2d 412, 414 (5th Cir. 1976), citing Early-Gary, Inc. v. Walters, 294 So.2d 181 (Miss.1974).

There is no question that Porter manufactured the planer, and the only modification made by Lenoir's employer was the removal of the limit bar. Lenoir's expert witness, Mr. Rennell, felt that the accident would have happened even with the limit bar attached. Lenoir argues that this issue should have gone to the jury. See Smith v. Hobart Manufacturing Co., 302 F.2d 570, 575-76 (3d Cir. 1962) (new trial granted because trial court refused to allow evidence as to whether the accident would have happened even if a safety guard had not been removed). The defect identified by Mr. Rennell was the lack of side shields that would have prevented this accident. In addition, Lenoir alleges inadequate warnings with regard to the dangers of the machine.

Porter points out that the limit bar was permanently affixed to the planer and was not designed to be removed. It is maintained that the bar was a safety device that would turn the machine off if a board too large or if two wedged boards came underneath the limit bar. ⁵ The limit bar, as well as the electrical cutoff wiring, were removed by a hacksaw or torch. In light of Porter's argument that the planer was conveyor-fed and required no operator to be present, it is difficult to imagine that the limit bar was designed for the safety of an operator. However, greater attention must be given to Porter's argument that when the limit bar was removed it became necessary to have a worker...