Mitchell v. Fruehauf Corp.

• Decision Date: 03 March 1978
• Docket Number: No. 75-3886,75-3886
• Citation: 568 F.2d 1139
• Parties: Isaac B. MITCHELL, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. FRUEHAUF CORPORATION and Fruehauf Corporation d/b/a Hobbs Trailers Division, Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 1139

568 F.2d 1139

Isaac B. MITCHELL, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. FRUEHAUF CORPORATION and Fruehauf Corporation d/b/a Hobbs Trailers Division, Defendants-Appellants.

No. 75-3886.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

March 3, 1978.

H. Lee Godfrey, John T. Anderson, Austin, Tex., for defendants-appellants.

L. Tonnett Byrd, Dick M. Allison, Don L. Davis, Austin, Tex., for plaintiff-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Before GOLDBERG, AINSWORTH and FAY, Circuit Judges.

AINSWORTH, Circuit Judge:

Defendant Fruehauf Corporation appeals from a judgment entered pursuant to a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff Isaac B. Mitchell. The jury awarded Mitchell $500,000 in damages for injuries suffered in a highway accident in which a refrigerated meat trailer manufactured by Fruehauf turned over and crushed Mitchell, leaving him paralyzed below the waist. Plaintiff's theory of liability in this case is that the trailer was defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous when loaded with hanging quarters of meat, and that this design defect was a producing cause of the accident. Defendant contends that the jury could not properly have concluded that the refrigerated trailer was unreasonably dangerous or that the purported defect in design caused the trailer to overturn. In addition, defendant asserts that the jury instructions were inadequate, relevant evidence was excluded and improper evidence was admitted. We affirm.

Facts

This litigation arose out of a collision near Austin, Texas in July 1970 between a tractor-trailer owned by the Kain Cattle Company, driven by Sherrill Griffith, and a pickup truck operated by plaintiff. Defendant Fruehauf manufactured the refrigerated meat trailer, which was fully loaded with 36,742 pounds of hanging beef quarters at the time of the accident.

Mitchell first brought suit in Texas state court against Kain Cattle Company and the truck driver, Sherrill Griffith. That claim was settled in July 1972 for $450,000. In the same month Mitchell brought this suit in federal district court against Fruehauf, alleging that the collision was caused by a "defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous" refrigerated meat trailer.

It is necessary to detail the circumstances of the collision, as they are of crucial importance in determining causation in this case. Plaintiff Mitchell's pickup truck, a gravel truck, and the tractor-trailer driven by Sherrill Griffith were travelling south on U. S. Highway 183. The pickup and the gravel truck were in the right lane of the two-lane highway, ahead of Griffith's truck. The highway proceeds up an incline, veers left, then straightens out and narrows into one lane of traffic. The incline begins just before the start of the curve. Approaching the incline, Griffith drove his truck into the left lane in order to pass the gravel truck and plaintiff's pickup. Griffith testified that he was travelling at a speed of approximately 55-60 miles per hour before he began to pass the two vehicles, but that as he was going up the incline toward the curve his speed slowed to 50 m. p. h. He also testified that plaintiff's pickup was travelling 4 or 5 m. p. h. slower than he was when he began to pass the pickup. Going into the turn Griffith planned to allow the shift in the hanging meat to cause the truck to drift to the outside of the curve, thereby enabling him to make a wide turn. After Griffith was already into the curve, he noticed in his rearview mirror that he had not completely passed plaintiff's vehicle. Thus, the truck and trailer were drifting into the right lane, forcing plaintiff, also in the right lane, into the guard rail. Griffith testified that at this point he "tightened up the steering wheel," turning it further to the left. The trailer wheels on the left side came off the ground, and Griffith pulled the steering wheel back to the right. However, as the road continued to curve left, Griffith was unable to rebalance the trailer, which turned over onto plaintiff's vehicle, seriously injuring Mitchell.

Proof of Liability

Under Texas law, the manufacturer of a defective product is liable for damages if such defect makes the product unreasonably dangerous, and if the defect is a "producing cause" of the injury suffered by the plaintiff. See General Motors Corp. v. Hopkins, Tex., 1977, 548 S.W.2d 344, 351. ¹ A plaintiff's contributory negligence will not defeat nor reduce the liability of the manufacturer. ² The issues of unreasonable danger and producing cause were submitted to the jury, whose verdict was for plaintiff in this case. In evaluating the adequacy of the evidence of unreasonable danger and producing cause, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury verdict. See Gray v. Martindale Lumber Co., 5 Cir., 1975, 515 F.2d 1218, 1221.

Plaintiff presented two expert witnesses who testified to the unreasonably dangerous character of refrigerated meat trailers. ³ The trailer manufactured by defendant was designed so that meat quarters can be hung from the ceiling. Plaintiff demonstrated that in the trailer that was involved in the accident which injured plaintiff, when fully loaded with hanging beef quarters, and travelling in a 150-foot radius at 14 m. p. h., the meat shifts 17 inches at the bottom, 11.6 inches at the middle and 6.97 inches at the top of the load. Defendant's expert witness, Derwyn Severy, admitted that the lateral force in the 14 m. p. h. experiment was only two-thirds of the lateral force present when the trailer unsuccessfully negotiated the turn at 45 m. p. h. Dr. Jindra, ⁴ an expert witness for the plaintiff, calculated that in a fully loaded trailer the center of gravity would shift 8 to 10 inches by reason of the movement of the hanging meat. Plaintiff's other expert witness, John Bentley, ⁵ explained the risk of turnover resulting from the shift in the center of gravity when negotiating a curve. Bentley emphasized the inability of drivers to anticipate the handling problems caused by the instability of hanging meat trailers. Bentley estimated that the center of gravity would shift approximately 18 inches at 45 m. p. h. on the curve where the accident occurred. Both Jindra and Bentley expressed the opinion that the Fruehauf trailer was unreasonably dangerous because of the unrestrained movement of the hanging meat. When defendant's expert witness, Wayne Thompson, was asked if he thought that a shift of 17 inches or more at the bottom of hanging meat "would be a dangerous problem driving up and down the roadway," and "naturally create a dangerous situation in the van," he agreed that it probably would be dangerous.

In addition to this expert testimony on the unreasonably dangerous character of the hanging meat trailers, plaintiff presented the testimony of five truck drivers. All the drivers had handled hanging meat trailers. Wilbur Moore, a truck driver with 36 years' experience, ⁶ testified that these trailers are very hazardous because of their unpredictable handling qualities, especially when evasive maneuvers are necessary. William Sellers, also a truck driver, related an incident in which a van carrying unrestrained hanging meat turned over while he was rounding a curve at only 15-20 m. p. h. Sellers stated that hanging meat trailers were unreasonably dangerous because of their unpredictability. Like Moore, Sellers emphasized that both danger and unpredictability are at their worst when sudden changes of direction are required. The third and fourth truck drivers, Kenneth Lewis and Melvin Vent, also described the difficult handling qualities of hanging meat trailers, and agreed that such trailers were unreasonably dangerous. Charles Hawley, the fifth trucker, stated that in his opinion hanging meat trailers were dangerous. The driver of the truck that injured plaintiff, Sherrill Griffith, also noted the special danger of hanging meat trailers in emergency situations.

Defendant responds to the evidence of unreasonable danger presented by plaintiff by contending that the special difficulties attendant to the operation of hanging meat trailers do not rise to the level of unreasonable danger because truck drivers are fully informed of the dangers of such trailers. In addition, Fruehauf argues that plaintiff's failure to prove the existence of a feasible alternative to the current design of hanging meat trailers precludes, as a matter of law, a finding of unreasonable danger.

Defendant's first assertion is without merit. Plaintiff's witnesses admitted that truck drivers are aware of the dangers of swinging meat, but nevertheless concluded that the trailers were unreasonably dangerous. These witnesses emphasized the unpredictability of the effect of swinging meat on the stability of the trailer, especially in situations where sudden changes in direction are necessary. Knowledge on the part of skilled operators of the dangerous character of a product should not prevent a jury from deciding that an unreasonable danger exists. This is especially true in the present case, where knowledge of the hazards of hanging meat trailers did not ensure that reasonable care would defeat the dangerous character of the product, since a crucial aspect of the danger is unpredictable handling in emergencies. Thus, the risk of injury is highest when the utility of knowledge of the dangerous qualities is lowest.

Defendant also contends that proof of a feasible alternative design is an essential part of the concept of an unreasonably dangerous product. Under this analysis, the unreasonableness of a danger presented by the use of a product is solely a matter of weighing the risk of harm, the economic cost of altering the product, and the reduction of the degree of dangerousness that would result from adoption of the alternative design. Reliance for this view of Texas product liability law is placed principally on four recent cases interpreting Texas law:...