Oats v. Nissan Motor Corp. in U.S.A.
| Decision Date | 19 August 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 20397,20397 |
| Citation | 879 P.2d 1095,126 Idaho 162 |
| Parties | , 26 UCC Rep.Serv.2d 1080, Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 13,993 Jeffrey OATS, Earl H. Oats and Phyllis E. Oats, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. NISSAN MOTOR CORPORATION IN THE U.S.A., Defendant-Respondent. and Michael David Beaudoin, Bradley Howard Smith, and Henry Andrew Stewart, Jr., Defendants. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Comstock & Bush, Boise, for plaintiffs-appellants. John A. Bush argued.
Moffatt, Thomas, Barrett, Rock & Fields, Boise, for defendant-respondent. Stephen R. Thomas argued.
Jeffrey Oats brought this action to recover for personal injuries he suffered while riding as a passenger in a 1978 Datsun 280Z 2 + 2 sports car manufactured by Nissan. Oats's claims against Nissan were based on theories of defective design, failure to warn, and breach of warranty. The district court granted summary judgment to Nissan, concluding that Oats's design defect and failure to warn claims were barred by the statute of repose set forth in the Idaho Product Liability Reform Act (IPLRA), and that Oats's breach of warranty claim was barred by the Uniform Commercial Code's four year statute of limitations. Oats appeals from the order of summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, vacate the order of summary judgment, and remand for further proceedings.
On February 14, 1989, Jeffrey Oats was involved in a two car collision while riding as a passenger in the rear seat of a 1978 Datsun 280Z 2 + 2, manufactured and marketed by Nissan. 1 Oats was rendered a quadriplegic as a result of the head and spinal cord injuries he sustained in the accident.
On February 13, 1991, Oats and his parents filed suit against Nissan 2 alleging claims of design defect, failure to warn and breach of warranty. In his design defect claim, Oats alleged that the 280Z 2 + 2 contained two design defects which created an unreasonable risk of enhanced injury to rear seat occupants in the event of collision: (a) the rear seat and roof structure did not provide enough head and leg room for adult occupants; and (b) the car's body panels lacked sufficient strength. In his failure to warn claim, Oats alleged that Nissan was negligent for not warning about or making safe the alleged defects in the car's design which Nissan knew, or should have known about. In his breach of warranty claim, Oats alleged that Nissan was liable for breach of express and implied warranties for marketing the 280Z 2 + 2 as being reasonably safe for the transportation of rear seat adult passengers.
On October 10, 1991, Nissan filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that Oats's design defect and failure to warn claims were barred by the IPLRA's statute of repose, and that his breach of warranty claim was barred by the UCC's four year statute of limitations. In a memorandum opinion and order filed July 17, 1992, the district court granted Nissan's motion for summary judgment. Oats has appealed from the district court's order of summary judgment.
In deciding this appeal, we must resolve two primary issues: (A) whether the district court erred in concluding that the IPLRA's statute of repose applied to bar Oats's design defect and failure to warn claims; and (B) whether the district court erred in concluding that Oats's breach of warranty claim was barred by the UCC's four year statute of limitations. We will address these issues in turn.
Preliminarily, we note our standard of review in this case. In an appeal from an order of summary judgment, this Court's standard of review is the same as the standard used by the district court in ruling on the motion for summary judgment. East Lizard Butte Water Corp. v. Howell, 122 Idaho 679, 681, 837 P.2d 805, 807 (1992). All disputed facts are to be construed liberally in favor of the non-moving party, and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the record are to be drawn in favor of the non-moving party. Bonz v. Sudweeks, 119 Idaho 539, 541, 808 P.2d 876, 878 (1991). Summary judgment shall be granted if the court determines that "the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." I.R.C.P. 56(c); Bonz, 119 Idaho at 541, 808 P.2d at 878.
The IPLRA's statute of repose, found at I.C. § 6-1403, states in pertinent part, as follows:
[6-1403] 6-1303. Length of time product sellers are subject to liability.--(1) Useful safe life.
(a) Except [when the product seller has expressly warranted the product for a longer period], a product seller shall not be subject to liability to a claimant for harm under this chapter if the product seller proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the harm was caused after the product's "useful safe life" had expired.
"Useful safe life" begins at the time of delivery of the product and extends for the time during which the product would normally be likely to perform or be stored in a safe manner. For the purposes of this chapter, "time of delivery" means the time of delivery of a product to its first purchaser or lessee who was not engaged in the business of either selling such products or using them as component parts of another product to be sold.
. . . . .
(2) Statute of repose.
(a) Generally. In claims that involve harm caused more than ten (10) years after time of delivery, a presumption arises that the harm was caused after the useful safe life had expired. This presumption may only be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence.
Subsection (1)(a) establishes the statute of repose as an affirmative defense to liability for product sellers who are able to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the plaintiff's injuries were not caused until after the product's "useful safe life" had expired. Olsen v. J.A. Freeman Co., 117 Idaho 706, 711, 791 P.2d 1285, 1290 (1990). Subsection (2)(a) establishes a presumption that the useful safe life of all products expires ten years after the date of delivery. Thus, a product seller need only show that the harm was caused more than ten years after the date of delivery and it will be presumed that the harm occurred after the product's useful safe life, and therefore that the product seller is immune from liability. The burden then shifts to the plaintiff to rebut by clear and convincing evidence the presumption that the product's useful safe life expired after ten years, and show that the harm was actually caused before the product's useful safe life expired. Rebuttal of the presumed ten year period of repose by clear and convincing evidence is not the only method provided for plaintiffs to avoid the effects of the statute of repose. Subsection (2)(b) of the statute sets forth a number of limitations which, if shown by the plaintiff, preclude application of the presumptive ten year period of repose.
In this case, it is undisputed that the accident which caused Oats's injuries occurred more than ten years after the "time of delivery", as that term is defined by the statute, inasmuch as the subject 280Z 2 + 2 was first delivered to a consumer on February 9, 1978, and the accident did not occur until February 13, 1989. Hence, a presumption arose that Oats did not sustain his injuries until after the vehicle's useful safe life had expired. The burden was therefore upon Oats to create a genuine issue whether: (1) one of subsection (2)(b)'s limitations applied to make the presumptive ten year period of repose inoperative; or (2) he could rebut the presumption that the 280Z 2 + 2 had a useful safe life of ten years.
In opposition to Nissan's motion for summary judgment, Oats asserted that the statute of repose did not apply in this case: (1) because the alleged defects in the car's design were not discoverable by an ordinary reasonably prudent person until more than ten years after the time of delivery, and therefore the presumptive ten year period of repose did not apply under subsection (2)(b)4's "hidden defect" limitation; and (2) because the useful safe life of the 280Z 2 + 2 had not expired by the time of the accident. In its memorandum decision the district court expressly recognized the need to address these two arguments. However, the court only properly resolved the first question, concluding that the "hidden defect" limitation applied to neither of the two defects alleged by Oats. Rather than addressing the second question as a separate and distinct issue, the district court concluded that "[s]ince [Oats] has failed to show a hidden defect he also failed to overcome the presumption" that the useful safe life of the 280Z 2 + 2 expired after ten years. For the following reasons, we hold that the district court was correct in ruling that the "hidden defect" limitation did not apply under the facts of this case. We also hold, however, that the district court erred in failing to separately analyze whether Oats had created a triable issue concerning rebuttal of the presumptive ten year period of repose.
1. Applicability of the "Hidden Defect" Limitation. The "hidden defect" limitation is found in subsection (2)(b)4 of the
statute of repose. This provision states as follows:
4. The ten (10) year period of repose established in subsection (2)(a) hereof shall not apply if ... the injury-causing aspect of the product that existed at the time of delivery was not discoverable by an ordinary reasonably prudent person until more than ten (10) years after the time of delivery,....
To decide whether this limitation applies in this case, we must examine the nature of the defects alleged by Oats. As stated above, Oats alleged two design defects in the 280Z 2 + 2: (a) inadequate head and leg room...
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