Nemir v. Mitsubishi Motors Sales Corp. of America
| Decision Date | 30 July 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 96-75380.,96-75380. |
| Parties | Michael A. NEMIR, Plaintiff, v. MITSUBISHI MOTOR SALES OF AMERICA and Chrysler Corp., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
George A. Hilborn, Eric A. Buikema, Hilborn & Hilborn, PC, Birmingham, MI, Craig E. Schaefer, Leland, for Plaintiff.
David R. Kelly, Thomas P. Branigan, Fred J. Fresard, Bowman & Brooke, Detroit, MI, Craig L. John, Dykema Gossett PLLC, Bloomfield Hills, MI, for Defendants.
In this products liability case, plaintiff Michael Nemir, a medical doctor, makes several allegations regarding a seatbelt and its operation. He says that he believes he fully latched his seatbelt in his Dodge Stealth automobile when he began a trip that resulted in serious injuries to himself. He says that the seatbelt became partially latched prior to the accident, and that due to the impact of the accident, he was thrown into the back seat of the Stealth.
To explain how this could have happened, he retained an expert who conducted tests to demonstrate that Dr. Nemir's seatbelt could have been in a "partially latched" position. It is this testing, and the manner in which it was conducted, that is the crux of this case.
On December 14, 1993, Dr. Michael Nemir was driving his 1991 Dodge Stealth near Clear Springs, Maryland. While traveling southbound on a two-lane road, Dr. Nemir lost control of the Stealth. The rear-end of the vehicle swung out to the right and the vehicle left the roadway. The right-front quarter panel of the Stealth impacted a fence post or small tree; then the right side of the vehicle severely impacted a larger tree. Dr. Nemir, who believes that he fully latched his seatbelt prior to departure, was thrown from the driver's seat into the back seat of the Stealth. His head struck the "B" pillar in the right rear of the vehicle and he suffered severe injuries.
When paramedics arrived, they found Dr. Nemir lying in the back seat, unresponsive, with irregular respirations and no pulse. He was resuscitated and hospitalized. He has made some recovery, but continues to suffer from severe motor dys-function, cognitive disability and partial blindness. Unfortunately, his career as a pediatric physician is ended.
In November, 1996, Dr. Nemir filed suit against Mitsubishi Motor Corporation and Chrysler Corporation.1 He does not allege that the seatbelt buckle was defectively manufactured. He alleges that the seatbelt buckle was defectively designed in that it allows a condition known as "partial latching," a condition in which the seatbelt appears to be fully latched but is in fact not fully latched, and will not restrain the occupant in the event of a crash. He contends that his seatbelt was in fact "partially latched" prior to his accident, and that its failure to restrain him either caused or exacerbated his injuries. He also alleges that the dashboard seatbelt light in the Dodge Stealth should have functioned to warn him that his seatbelt was not properly latched, and that defendants' "failure to warn" him of this condition also caused or exacerbated his injuries.
Defendants have filed summary judgment motions as to the design defect and the failure to warn claims. In their motion as to the design defect claim, they raise two arguments. First, they contend that plaintiff's expert testimony as to an alleged design defect is inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993). Without such expert testimony, defendants argue, plaintiff cannot produce evidence to support his theory of a design defect. Second, defendants contend that plaintiff cannot produce sufficient evidence meet the "risk/utility" analysis required in a design defect claim under Maryland law.
As to the failure to warn claim, defendants raise two arguments. First, defendants contend that plaintiff's expert is not qualified to testify as to the adequacy of the warnings given. Second, they contend that plaintiff has not presented evidence of causation — that is, plaintiff has not demonstrated that the warning he alleges is necessary would have prevented his injuries.
Thus before me are three issues: First, because plaintiff relies on expert testimony to support his claims, I must consider whether plaintiff's proffered expert testimony is admissible under FRE 702 and Daubert. Second: choice of law — defendants contend that Michigan law should apply while plaintiff argues that Maryland law should apply. Third: whether plaintiff can produce admissible evidence as to the elements of the design defect claim. This requires (if Maryland law applies) that I determine whether plaintiff can demonstrate a triable issue of fact as to (1) a design defect condition, and (2) the unreasonably dangerous condition of the product. This also requires that I determine (a) whether the product poses an inherently unreasonable risk, or (b) whether plaintiff can demonstrate a triable issue of fact based on Maryland's risk-utility law. And I must address plaintiff's failure to warn claim.
Plaintiff's Dodge Stealth was equipped with Takata 52 (TK52) series seatbelt buckles. Plaintiff alleges that the TK52 series buckles are defectively designed. The routine steps involved in the use of a seatbelt are important. A seatbelt buckle, in order to be effective, must be fastened. When a user fastens a seatbelt, he/she inserts the latchplate (the metal "male end" of the seatbelt) into the buckle mechanism (the "female end" of the seatbelt anchored to the floor at the center of the vehicle). (See Appendix A) As the latchplate is inserted, but before it actually latches, the latchplate pushes against an "ejector spring" (or other similar device). The ejector spring compresses, and exerts a small amount of force in the direction which would tend to push the as yet unlatched latchplate out of the buckle mechanism. If the user stops inserting the latchplate into the buckle mechanism and lets go of the seatbelt prior to the point at which the two parts of the buckle lock together, the ejector spring pushes the latchplate out of the buckle mechanism and the belt retractor system pulls the seatbelt back into the frame of the car. If, as commonly occurs, the user inserts the latchplate completely into the buckle mechanism of the buckle, the buckle latches and a click is heard. Such a properly latched buckle can withstand several thousand pounds of force before separating, (Horton Dep. p. 91), and the user must press the release button in order to unlatch and remove the belt. When the release button is depressed, the buckle unlocks, the ejector spring pushes or "pops" the latchplate out of the buckle mechanism, and the belt retractor system pulls the seatbelt into a stowed position.
According to plaintiff's expert Thomas Horton, TK52 series buckles, including the subject buckle in Dr. Nemir's Stealth, may in use have a "third" position, "partial latch." In this condition of partial latch, the interior mechanisms of the buckle engage only slightly — enough to hold the latchplate in the buckle notwithstanding the counter-force of the ejector spring and retractor system. The interior mechanisms do not fully engage, and the buckle will therefore unlatch or separate without depressing the release button and with a minimal amount of force, much less than several thousand pounds that it would take to separate a fully locked seatbelt buckle. Plaintiff alleges that "partial latch" gives the user the impression that the buckle is fully latched because the latchplate does not "pop out" of the buckle, but such a partially latched buckle does not provide proper restraint in the event of an accident.
Plaintiff notes that partial latching is referred to in FMVSS 209, codified at 49 C.F.R. § 571.209. Specifically, subsection 5.2(g) refers to a condition called "partial engagement":
A metal-to-metal buckle shall be examined to determine whether partial engagement is possible by means of any technique representative of actual use. If partial engagement is possible, the maximum force of separation when in such partial engagement shall be determined.
Section 571.209 S4.3(g) also provides:
"[A] metal-to-metal buckle shall separate when in any position of partial engagement by a force of not more than [five pounds]."2
Plaintiff's theory of the design defect, as stated by his expert, tracks the standard set forth in these subsections:
[Defense Counsel Kelly (to Horton) ]: You believe there is a design defect?
[Horton]: Yes.
....
[Kelly]: And what is that defect?
[Horton]: That it will partial [sic] engage and take more than a reasonable amount of poundage to pull it out of partial engagement.
To support his theory of design defect, Horton conducted testing on several exemplar TK52 series buckles. Unfortunately, Horton did not record the details of this testing except to write down the results obtained. His video deposition testimony and a demonstration video submitted in response to defendants' motion sets forth the manner in which Horton conducted his testing.
Horton obtained seven TK52 series buckles from salvage yards and prior clients. For his testing, Horton used the buckle mechanism of six of the buckles and the latchplate of the seventh.3 As a preliminary step, he took three measurements of each of the six latchplates corresponding to each of the six buckle mechanisms. He also measured those same three dimensions on the exemplar latchplate, in order to demonstrate that the exemplar latch-plate that would be used in his testing procedure was substantially identical to...
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