Phillips v. Duro-Last Roofing, Inc.

• Decision Date: 21 February 1991
• Docket Number: No. 90-161,DURO-LAST,90-161
• Citation: 806 P.2d 834
• Parties: Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 12,736 Michael PHILLIPS, Appellant (Plaintiff), v.ROOFING, INC., Appellee (Defendant).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

Page 834

806 P.2d 834

Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 12,736

Michael PHILLIPS, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. DURO-LAST ROOFING, INC., Appellee (Defendant).

No. 90-161.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

Feb. 21, 1991.

James E. Fitzgerald, Sharon A. Fitzgerald and A.G. McClintock, Cheyenne, for appellant.

Gary R. Scott of Hirst & Applegate, Cheyenne, for appellee.

G.G. Greenlee of Murane & Bostwick, Casper, for amicus curiae Defense Lawyers Ass'n of Wyoming.

Before URBIGKIT, C.J., and THOMAS, CARDINE, MACY and GOLDEN, JJ.

URBIGKIT, Chief Justice.

Presented are certified issues from the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming, asking whether W.S. 1-1-109 (1988), a comparative negligence attribution, allocation and apportionment statute, ¹ applies to recovery on a claim

of strict liability under Restatement of Torts (Second) § 402A?

* * * of strict liability under Restatement of Torts (Second) § 402B?

* * * for breach of the implied warranty of merchantability?

* * * for breach of the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose?

* * * for a breach of express warranty?

As initially passed in 1973 and last amended in 1986, the Wyoming legislature enacted a comparative negligence statute, of which sections (c) and (d) are directly involved in this certified question review. We are asked to apply or disassociate the negligence apportionment and allocation provisions from that statute to recovery theories of strict liability, implied warranty of merchantability, implied warranty of fitness for the particular purpose and express warranty. The Wyoming statute states:

(a) Contributory negligence shall not bar a recovery in an action by any person or his legal representative to recover damages for negligence resulting in death or in injury to person or property, if the contributory negligence of the said person is not more than fifty percent (50%) of the total fault. Any damages allowed shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to the person recovering.

(b) The court may, and when requested by any party shall:

(i) If a jury trial:

(A) Direct the jury to find separate special verdicts determining the total amount of damages and the percentage of fault attributable to each actor whether or not a party; and

(B) Inform the jury of the consequences of its determination of the percentage of fault.

(ii) If a trial before the court without jury, make special findings of fact, determining the total amount of damages and the percentage of fault attributable to each actor whether or not a party.

(c) The court shall reduce the amount of damages determined under subsection (b) of this section in proportion to the amount of fault attributed to the person recovering and enter judgment against each defendant in the amount determined under subsection (d) of this section.

(d) Each defendant is liable only for that proportion of the total dollar amount determined as damages under paragraph (b)(i) or (ii) of this section in the percentage of the amount of fault attributed to him under paragraph (b)(i) or (ii) of this section.

W.S. 1-1-109.

The certification order provides a specific and directly stated factual perspective for our decision:

Plaintiff Michael Phillips was employed as a roofer by Nyfogle, Inc. dba, Gem City Enterprise in Laramie, Wyoming. On July 1, 1988, he was applying a roofing material distributed by defendant Duro-Last Roofing, Inc. (Duro-Last), when the material tore and he fell two and one-half stories to the ground, sustaining severe injuries.

Plaintiff brought this action against defendant Duro-Last Roofing, Inc., seeking to recover damages for the injuries he suffered as a result of using defendant's product. Phillips sought recovery under theories of negligence, strict liability under Restatement of Torts (Second) § 402A and § 402B, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, breach of the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, and breach of express warranty.

The jury found that Duro-Last was forty percent (40%) negligent, that plaintiff's employer (a "ghost" defendant) was forty percent (40%) negligent, and that plaintiff was twenty (20%) negligent. The jury went on to find for the plaintiff on all three warranty claims, and on both strict liability claims. It held that the total amount that would compensate plaintiff was $187,000.

The parties dispute whether Wyo.Stat. § 1-1-109 (1988) should apply to reduce plaintiff's recovery to forty percent (40%) on each of his claims.

In addition to the federal court litigants, excellent extended briefing is provided by the amicus curiae, Defense Lawyers Association of Wyoming.

Through motions, objections and briefing, the issues presented become two-fold. We are first asked whether W.S. 1-1-109 applies to non-negligent causes of action, including strict liability and warranty. In second approach, this court is directed by responding litigants to further consider whether even if the statute does not directly apply, that the court should adopt theories of allocation and apportionment for non-negligent actions which might be similar to or the same as statutorily provided by W.S. 1-1-109 for negligence litigation.

This court answers the certified questions in the negative and declines to use this case to assess the broad subject of apportionment of damage liability for application to warranty and strict liability recovery theories.

W.S. 1-1-109 in present form was enacted by Wyo.Sess. Laws ch. 24, § 1 (1986) to change prior Wyoming law first provided in 1973 when contributory negligence was displaced with comparative negligence by Wyo.Sess.Laws ch. 28, § 1 (1973). The 1986 enactment was clearly directed to ameliorate perceived problems as part of a tort system "reform" legislation. The statute and its predecessor had been confined by its text and title to actions involving negligence. ² The 1973 act allocated liability between plaintiff and defendant or defendants and the 1986 act apportioned payment responsibility among defendants to eliminate the joint and several liability of each.

This court also, five days after Wyo.Sess.Laws ch. 24 (1986) became law without the Governor's signature, rendered Ogle v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 716 P.2d 334 (Wyo.1986), which first clearly approved strict liability recovery theories. Consequently, the legislature had no specific reason to anticipate its result. In the sessions since Ogle, the legislature has not enacted any extension of the apportionment provisions of W.S. 1-1-109(d) to apply to the non-negligent actions.

Without additional legislative history to be of assistance, we will not now engage in comprehensive judicial legislating which is required in order to extend the application of the allocation and apportionment statute from its express and intended arena of negligence into warranty and strict liability proceedings by either statutory interpretation or common law extension.

Statutory interpretation and application addresses review of the perceived legislative intent. With little or nothing more than the specific language of the enactment, we cannot be justified in superimposing over its plain provisions what is not otherwise stated. ³ We concur with appellant that the plain and unambiguous language of W.S. 1-1-109 demonstrates that the statute applies only to causes of action arising out of appellee's negligence.

Where the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous and conveys a clear and definite meaning, we do not resort to rules of statutory construction. * * * Neither this Court nor the agency charged with administering the statute has a right to look for and impose another meaning.

Wyoming Ins. Dept. v. Avemco Ins. Co., 726 P.2d 507, 510 (Wyo.1986). We are also directed to our recent case of Belle Fourche Pipeline Co. v. State, 766 P.2d 537, 542 (Wyo.1988):

Whenever this court is engaged in the construction of a statute, the primary consideration is to discern the intention of the legislature. * * * That legislative intent should be ascertained, as nearly as is possible, from the language incorporated in the statute, which is viewed in the light of its object and purpose. * * * In those instances in which the language in the statute is plain and unambiguous, the words used are to be accorded their plain and ordinary meaning unless there is some manifestation of a legislative intent that they not be accorded the plain and ordinary meaning.

In next argument, appellee and the amicus curiae argue comprehensively and stridently that this court should apply a judicial apportionment and allocation concept in this case by going beyond the specific questions asked by the United States District Court in its certified questions. We decline to take this additional adjudicatory step for three reasons. First, pursuant to W.S. 1-13-104 through 1-13-107, the Federal Court State Law Certificate Procedure Act, nothing is indicated that this court is authorized to answer more than is asked. To go further might impose on a comity relationship with the certifying court in the pending case, or otherwise constitute an advisory opinion for the issues not presented by the certification. We are limited to actual cases and controversies and do not issue advisory opinions under the constitutional perspective established by the Wyoming Constitution for the operation of the Wyoming Supreme Court. Kurpjuweit v. Northwestern Development Co., Inc., 708 P.2d 39 (Wyo.1985); Knudson v. Hilzer, 551 P.2d 680 (Wyo.1976); Tobin v. Pursel, 539 P.2d 361 (Wyo.1975).

The second impedance is absence of a record. This opinion quotes the entire factual record presented for our consideration. We would, in order to address non-certified issues, be required to suppose or conjecture factual situations in order to address possible theories, factual situations and controlling principles. ⁴ Korkow v. Markle, 746 P.2d 434 (Wyo.1987).

The third reason for this confined...