Maietta v. International Harvester Co.

• Decision Date: 19 July 1985
• Citation: 496 A.2d 286
• Parties: Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 10,613 Thomas S. MAIETTA and Maietta Construction Company, Inc. v. INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

Page 286

496 A.2d 286

Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 10,613

Thomas S. MAIETTA and Maietta Construction Company, Inc. v. INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Argued June 14, 1985.

Decided July 19, 1985.

Kelly, Remmel & Zimmerman, Graydon G. Stevens, (orally), Barry Zimmerman, John N. Kelly, Portland, for plaintiff.

Hunt, Thompson & Bowie, Roy E. Thompson, (orally), Glenn H. Robinson, Mark V. Franco, Daniel R. Mawhinney, Portland, for defendant.

Before NICHOLS, ROBERTS, VIOLETTE, WATHEN, GLASSMAN and SCOLNIK, JJ.

WATHEN, Justice.

Defendant, International Harvester Company ("IH"), appeals from judgments of the Superior Court (Cumberland County) entered on jury verdicts in favor of Thomas Maietta and Maietta Construction Company, Inc. ("MC"). The suits result from three accidents involving two dump trucks sold by IH to MC. Defendant seeks reversal based on alleged errors in procedure, admission of evidence, and instructions to the jury. We find no error and deny the appeal.

This case arises from the consolidation of separate actions sounding in negligence and breach of express and implied warranty brought against IH by Thomas Maietta and MC. MC is a construction company located in Scarborough. Louis Maietta, Sr. is the president and half-owner of the company. The MC action, sought property damages and lost profits and revenues, arising from three accidents, involving three different drivers and two different trucks. Thomas Maietta, an employee of MC, was the driver during one of the accidents. By separate action, he sought damages for personal injuries allegedly suffered in the accident.

The trucks were manufactured by IH, and sold new by IH to MC in 1976. On April 30, 1976, MC bought a Model F5070 (the "5070") truck from IH's Portland dealer. ¹ MC bought a Model F2070 (the "2070") truck from the same dealer on August 23, 1976. Both trucks were 10 wheel dump trucks, and both trucks were fitted with computerized braking devices, called 121 anti-locking devices, produced by Kelsey-Hayes. The 121 system was developed in response to federal regulations requiring trucks to be able to stop within a certain distance and within a certain path. The 121 system is designed to prevent skidding. The system includes a computer or controller that monitors the speed of a particular wheel and is capable of determining when a wheel is about to lock. At the point when a wheel is about to lock an electrical signal is sent to the brakes for that wheel, interrupting the flow of air to those brakes.

Both the 5070 and 2070 truck had a yellow light on the dashboard which when lighted, indicated a malfunction in the computer system (but no loss of non-computer controlled braking), according to IH mechanics. Louis Maietta, Sr. and Melvin Densmore, the IH mechanic who worked on the brakes of the 5070 and the 2070, both testified that the yellow light was often lighted, at least on the 2070. Louis Maietta, Sr. testified that although MC employed its own mechanics at its garage, only IH mechanics ever worked on the braking systems of the 5070 and the 2070. Apparently, Densmore did most of the brake work on the trucks for IH. MC kept no internal records with respect to maintenance and followed no written maintenance schedule. Nor did MC have a company policy requiring employees to read operator's manuals. In addition, MC did not keep daily records of equipment use.

The first accident took place on March 2, 1977 while Vincent Maietta was driving the 5070 in Gorham. Vincent testified that when he tried to slow the truck by applying the brakes, "all of a sudden there weren't any brakes." To avoid hitting an oil truck, he headed to the right side of the road, downshifting in an attempt to slow the truck. The truck hit a utility pole and turned over on its side. Louis Maietta, Sr. testified that the truck was out of operation for 28 days.

The plaintiffs' expert, George Ternent, concluded that the most probable area of malfunction causing the March 2 accident was in the computer itself. Defendant's expert, Gary Whitcomb, testified that the cause of the March 2 accident was unrelated "to any failure of the brake system in which there is any direct evidence." A Gorham Police Officer, investigating at the scene of the accident, testified that he asked Vincent if any equipment failure caused the accident, and Vincent answered in the negative.

The second accident took place on August 16, 1977 in Saco while Louis Maietta, Jr. was driving the 2070. When he approached a stop sign and stepped on the brake in the process of downshifting, "there was nothing," no brakes. To avoid crossing four lanes of traffic on Route 1, Louis Maietta, Jr. steered to the right hitting the rear of a car. The truck stopped against the curb. Louis Maietta, Jr. then dumped the load from the truck and drove to MC's garage and from there to IH. The brakes seemed to function properly after the load was released. The 2070 was out of operation for 29 days after this accident according to Louis Maietta, Sr.

Louis Maietta, Jr. testified that August 16 was the second time that the 2070 completely lost braking power. Densmore confirmed Louis Maietta, Jr.'s allegation concerning the pre-August 16 loss of brakes.

Ternent concluded that the August 16 accident was caused by a failure in the controller (computer) of the anti-locking system. Ternent agreed, however, that the truck's brakes themselves were in very poor condition, well below par. Whitcomb, an expert offered by the defense, testified that the accident was the result of a loss of braking caused by improper maintenance of the basic braking system. Densmore attributed the poor condition of the air brakes to a malfunction in the front wheel self-adjusting mechanism.

The third accident occurred on August 25, 1977 while Thomas Maietta was driving the 5070 in South Portland. In preparation for making a turn, Thomas tapped the brakes to slow down. Thomas testified that he felt a pulling sensation to the right. According to Thomas, as the truck was going around the corner, the wheels would not straighten. The truck ran off the road, down a banking, and rolled over on its side. The 5070 was out of operation for 79 days following the August 25 accident, according to Louis Maietta, Sr. Thomas claimed that he suffered physical injuries in the accident.

After the accident, the 5070 was towed to MC's shop. The right front wheel was removed in the presence of Louis Maietta, Sr., and Tony Pasqual and Lewellyn Griffith from IH. Densmore, an IH mechanic, removed the wheel. An examination of the backing plate revealed that several nuts and bolts designed to hold the braking system on the wheel were missing or loose. Out of the seven or eight sets of nuts and bolts, one set was missing completely. Two sets were tight. The remaining sets were loose. In addition, the holes through which the bolts were inserted were elongated. Based on this fact, Densmore testified that he concluded that the "looseness" had existed for "six months, a year." Further, Densmore testified that from observations he made of the wheel, he did not believe that the wheel had ever before been removed.

In Ternent's opinion, the August 25 accident was the result of a manufacturing defect, specifically that the bolts were not properly tightened. The Court prohibited Whitcomb from testifying as to his opinion on the cause of the accident. According to an offer of proof, Whitcomb would have testified that driver inattention caused the accident. On cross-examination, Whitcomb admitted that IH's assembly card indicates that no one "signed off" as having tightened the bolts on the right front wheel. But Whitcomb also gave testimony suggesting that markings on the assembly card indicated that the bolts were tightened at the factory.

With respect to MC's complaint, IH moved to sever those separate counts of the complaint arising from the March 2, August 16, and August 25 accidents. Defendant's motion to sever was denied in a pretrial order. In addition, the pretrial order consolidated the complaints of Thomas Maietta and MC for purposes of trial.

At trial, MC sought to prove that the March 2 accident involving the 5070 and the August 16 accident involving the 2070 were caused by defective computer braking systems installed in the two trucks. Both Thomas Maietta and MC sought to prove that the August 25 accident involving the 5070 was caused by a defect in the manufacture of the right front wheel assembly. The jury returned verdicts in favor of Thomas Maietta and MC.

I. Procedural Objections

(A) Denial of severance and order for consolidation.

Defendant contends not only that Thomas Maietta's personal injury complaint should not have been consolidated for trial with MC's complaint for property damage, but also that the claims made in MC's complaint based on the three distinct accidents should have been severed from each other as well. Defendant asserts that the Court's ruling on these matters constitute reversible error because the rulings resulted in confusion and in extreme prejudice to the defendant, ultimately denying the defendant its constitutional right to a fair trial.

Rule 42(b), M.R.Civ.P., provides that for the sake of convenience and to avoid prejudice, a court may order separate trials of separate issues or claims. In Thornton v. Cressey, 413 A.2d 540, 544 n. 3 (Me.1980), this Court recognized the exceptional nature of a separate trial order. See 1 Field, McKusick & Wroth, Maine Civil Practice § 42.5 at 587-588 (2d ed. 1970) ("Separation ... is not reversible except for clear abuse of discretion"). In Thornton, this Court listed five factors that militated against an order of separation: 1) substantial identity of the parties, and the witnesses, 2) overlapping evidence, 3) relatively simple issues, 4) relative times required for litigating different issues, and 5) the absence of discernable prejudice to the parties. See id at 545....