Rebecca v. Ride the Ducks Int'l, LLC
| Decision Date | 06 July 2021 |
| Docket Number | No. 80257-7-I,C/w No. 80258-5-I,80257-7-I |
| Court | Washington Court of Appeals |
| Parties | REBECCA WEST, an individual, Respondent, and TAMI MATSON, an individual; TIFFANY HAMAN, an individual, Plaintiffs, v. RIDE THE DUCKS INTERNATIONAL, LLC, a foreign company; RIDE THE DUCKS OF SEATTLE, LLC, a Washington company; Appellants, and ERIC BISHOP and JANE DOE BISHOP, and their marital community, Defendants. |
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
COBURN, J. — Rebecca West was sightseeing aboard an amphibious "Stretch Duck" vehicle (Duck 6) on September 24, 2015, when it was involved in a catastrophic collision with a charter bus on the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. The collision occurred when Duck 6's front axle housing fractured at the connection point between the steering knuckle ball and the axle housing, causing the driver's side front wheel to come off. Duck 6 was owned and operated by Ride the Ducks of Seattle (RTDS), which had purchased it from the manufacturer, Ride the Ducks International (RTDI), in 2005.
About two years before the collision, in October 2013, RTDI issued a service bulletin to its franchisees and licensees, including RTDS, directing them to implement a "collar modification" to strengthen the axle housing on Stretch Ducks. RTDS did not implement the collar modification. By the time RTDI issued the service bulletin, it had observed five axle housing fractures on Stretch Ducks over a period of approximately 10 years.
West later sued RTDI and RTDS. Against RTDI, West alleged claims under Washington's Products Liability Act (WPLA), chapter 7.72 RCW. Against RTDS, West alleged negligence. A jury found both defendants liable and apportioned 60 percent fault to RTDI and 40 percent fault to RTDS.
On appeal, RTDI contends the trial court erred by (1) denying RTDI's motion for judgment as a matter of law on three of West's WPLA-based theories; (2) not giving a superseding cause instruction; and (3) not adding RTDI's proposed clarification to the jury instruction on West's post-sale failure-to-warn claim. RTDS contends the trial court erred by (1) denying RTDS's motion for judgment as a matter of law; (2) admitting evidence that RTDS breached its common carrier duty of care by not implementing the collar modification; (3) admitting evidence of staffing and disorganization issues in RTDS's maintenance department; and (4) admitting West's testimony about why she was wearing a boot on her foot during trial.
We hold that because the medical cause of the problem with West's foot was a matter requiring specialized knowledge, and because West was not qualified to testify as to that matter, the trial court erred by admitting West's testimony about why she was wearing a boot. But this error does not require reversal, and we otherwise discern no error. Accordingly, we affirm.
BACKGROUND
Facts
Amphibious "DUKW" vehicles were originally designed and built by GMC for use by the U.S. military to move cargo from ship to shore during World War II. After the war, a company called Ozark Scenic Tours in Branson, Missouri, began using parts from surplus DUKW vehicles to build tour vehicles, which it then used to operate tours in Branson. RTDI's parent company later purchased and renamed Ozark Scenic Tours, and consistent with the parties' briefing, we refer to the company hereinafter as "RTDI" regardless of the time frame. RTDI had tour franchises in Branson; Philadelphia; Newport, Kentucky; Stone Mountain, Georgia; San Francisco; and Guam. Additionally, it had licensees in Boston and Seattle. Unlike franchisees, RTDI's licensees were independent companies that owned the vehicles they purchased from RTDI, and in exchange for a percentage of sales, obtained the right to use certain RTDI intellectual property and resources. RTDS was the licensee in Seattle.
RTDI produced and sold four distinct editions of tour vehicles. Duck 6 was a second-generation "Stretch Duck." To build a Stretch Duck, RTDI would refurbish an original DUKW chassis and "stretch" it by cutting it and adding 15inches of frame. RTDI would then mount a hull fabricated from new steel onto the chassis.
The axle assemblies that RTDI used for the Stretch Ducks were refurbished 1945-era axle assemblies from GMC's postwar military truck, the M135/M211. RTDI would obtain the M135/M211 axle assemblies from surplus auctions or other secondhand sources and remanufacture them. An axle assembly includes the axle housing, which is a protective steel shell that encases the axle and to which the suspension is attached.
Each wheel end of the axle assembly is covered with a watertight "boot" designed to keep water out of the axle assembly. The boot covers the connection point at each end of the axle assembly between the axle housing and the steering knuckle ball.
RTDI began building Stretch Ducks in 1996 and produced a total of 57. Chris Herschend, RTDI's president, later testified that he was aware of no evidence indicating that RTDI ever conducted any engineering or metallurgical analysis in connection with its production of Stretch Ducks.
On July 8, 2003, a driver in Branson observed that the right front axle housing on a Stretch Duck had broken at the knuckle ball. RTDI did not conduct any causation analysis but attributed the fracture to a 1998 incident in which that Stretch Duck's hand brake was not properly set, and the Stretch Duck ran over a retaining wall. No injuries were associated with the July 2003 fracture.
In the 2003-2004 time frame, RTDI observed that the left front wheels on two of its parked Stretch Ducks were canted inward (i.e., toward the engine) atthe top. According to a later summary of the incident, "[u]pon further inspections and examinations, it was determined that the axle housings were fractured along the bottom of the housing between the knuckle ball and where the axle ends were pressed into and welded to the housings." In 2004, RTDI began welding a small section of pipe to the bottom of the knuckle ball to bridge the gap between the knuckle ball and the axle housing. This process is referred to throughout the record as the "tab repair" or "tab fix."
The tab fix was developed by RTDI's previous owner, and later RTDI employees testified they did not know exactly what it was intended to do. But Frank English, RTDI's manager of fleet operations and safety, testified that he believed the tab fix was implemented to address the issue with wheel canting. Duck 6, which RTDI built in 2004, had the tab fix. RTDI sold Duck 6 to RTDS in early 2005.
On July 27, 2013, a Stretch Duck with 34 passengers on board experienced an axle housing fracture while on a tour in Branson. The Stretch Duck was moving slowly at the time, and although the driver reported that the Stretch Duck had lost its left front wheel, no one was injured. RTDI concluded the fracture was the result of a 2012 incident when that Stretch Duck was turned onto its left side during a tornado then lifted back onto its wheels by a crane. English later testified that RTDI did not conduct any kind of failure analysis or consult with an engineer in reaching this conclusion; RTDI reached its conclusion "immediately" when it recognized that it was the same Stretch Duck involved in the tornado incident.
On August 10, 2013, RTDI inspected another of its Stretch Ducks in Branson and observed that the left front wheel was canted inward at the top. According to a later summary of the incident, "RTDI determined that the axle housing was fractured between the knuckle ball and where the axle end is pressed into and welded into the housing." Additionally, that Stretch Duck had previously undergone the tab fix. English later testified that because this time there was no reason for the canting that RTDI was aware of, RTDI decided to issue a "service bulletin" to "[m]ake sure it never happened again."
On October 1, 2013, RTDI issued a service bulletin numbered SB-00-14-13. The bulletin's stated reason for release was "[t]o avoid axle fractures and to strengthen the connection where the knuckle housing ball connects to the axle housing." The bulletin directed the reader to weld a metal "collar" into the gap between the axle housing and the steering knuckle ball (collar modification). The bulletin's stated urgency was: 1 The daily inspection was described asfollows:
Due to the axle knuckle boots covering the connection in question[,] the visual detection of a failing axle housing is not possible[.] However during visual examination with the (front wheels straight) you identify a wheel or wheels as being (vertically canted) the Duck should be removed from service the damaged axle housing removed (scrapped) and replaced with an axle housing that has been modified in accordance with this Service Bulletin[.]
RTDI posted the service bulletin to "Duck Central," RTDI's resource-sharing portal to which both licensees and franchisees had access. Herschend later testified that posting documents to Duck Central would generate an email to franchisees and licensees. English testified that the service bulletin was also discussed on biweekly maintenance conference calls, which RTDI hosted as an "open forum" for franchisees and licensees to "discuss pretty much anything." RTDS representatives would sometimes, but not always, participate in those calls.
Ryan Johnson, RTDS's director of operations, received the service bulletin from RTDI and, on October 24, 2013, forwarded it to Joe Hatten, RTDS's maintenance manager, and Isaac Hoffman, RTDS's shop foreman. Hatten later testified that RTDS was not equipped to conduct the welding called for in the service bulletin and that the bulletin "generated more questions than answers." According to Hatten, he relayed his concerns to Johnson with the understanding that Johnson would discuss them with RTDS's president and then get back to...
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