Reynolds v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 92-6332

Citation989 F.2d 465
Decision Date28 April 1993
Docket NumberNo. 92-6332,92-6332
PartiesProd.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 13,477 Inez REYNOLDS, as the Successor Administratrix of the Estate of Wilmer Lampley, deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE, INC., Defendant-Appellee, Container Corporation of America, Defendant, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Defendant-Appellee, Firestone Steel Products of Canada, a Division of Decor Metal Products, Ltd.; Decor Metal Products Ltd., a Division of TRW, Defendants.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit)

Jere L. Beasley, Landis Sexton, Frank M. Wilson, J. Greg Allen, Beasley, Wilson, Allen, Main & Crow, PC, Montgomery, AL, for plaintiff-appellant.

Ronald G. Davenport, Rushton, Stakely, Johnston & Garrett, PA, Montgomery, AL, Scott M. Phelps, Brittin T. Coleman, Bradley, Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.

Arant, Rose & White, Birmingham, AL, Frances E. Prell, Burke, Bosselman & Weaver, Chicago, IL, Warren B. Lightfoot, Harlan I. Prater, IV, Lightfoot, Franklin, White & Lucas, Birmingham, AL, for defendant-appellee.

Before FAY and KRAVITCH, Circuit Judges, and RONEY, Senior Circuit Judge.

FAY, Circuit Judge:

This is a product liability action involving a Goodyear tire specifically designed for mounting on a multi-piece rim assembly manufactured by Firestone. Upon the death of Wilmer Lampley, his estate, the appellant/plaintiff, sued Firestone and Goodyear, appellees/defendants, claiming violation of the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine (AEMLD), negligent and wanton conduct, and failure to warn. The estate appeals the district court's order granting summary judgment in favor of both defendants on all claims. Because we find genuine issues of fact and misapplication of state law regarding the claims against Firestone, we VACATE the judgment as to Firestone and REMAND the case to district court. We AFFIRM summary judgment for Goodyear.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Wilmer Lampley had been employed by Steed Tire Service for six years. By virtue of his training and experience, he was thoroughly qualified to service multi-piece truck rims and his employer thought him to be a very cautious tire changer. On April 6, 1990, an exploding tire and multi-piece rim assembly killed Mr. Lampley. On that day he and a co-worker were assigned to mount and install several recapped tires on a grappling loader at the Container Corporation lumber yard in Banks, Alabama. To repair the right front tire, Lampley disassembled the wheel, separating the rim components and removing the old tire. Using the same rim parts and a retreaded tire, Lampley then reassembled the rim and inflated the tire. An explosion occurred as he was mounting the tire and rim assembly onto the axle of the grappling loader. The rim components separated, causing the tire to rapidly deflate. Under the instant release of thousands of pounds of air pressure, the tire or a rim component struck Lampley. He died immediately.

There are two rim designs available for mounting tires, single piece rims or multi-piece rims. Tires mounted on multi-piece rims require that an inner tube be used to hold the air. Single piece rims do not require inner tubes or locking mechanisms because the tire and rim combine to create an effective seal. The tires manufactured for the different rim designs are not interchangeable. The plaintiff does not dispute that when the explosion occurred Lampley was mounting a Goodyear 5 degree tube-type tire designed specifically for a multi-piece rim, a tire which was not suitable for mounting on a single piece rim. The plaintiff asserts, however, Goodyear knew when it placed this tire into the stream of commerce that the multi-piece rims for which the tire was designed had an inherent design flaw and could unexpectedly separate and explode. Plaintiff claims the tire poses an unreasonable risk of harm to the intended user, since it could only be mounted on the inherently dangerous multi-piece rim.

The plaintiff's brief generally describes the functional design of a multi-piece rim assembly. A rim assembly consists of three steel parts: the rim base, the continuous side ring, and the lock ring. The rim base has a fixed flange on one side which is designed to hold the bead of the tire in place. The continuous side ring and the lock ring fit onto the opposite side of the rim base. The continuous side ring is a removable flange. The tire is mounted by sliding it over the side of the rim base opposite the fixed flange. After the tire is pushed over the rim base, the continuous side ring is placed over the rim base and affixed to it by fitting the lock ring into the gutter on the rim base; the lock ring acts as a wedging or interlocking mechanism to hold the continuous side ring in place. If the lock ring is not fully engaged in the There are apparently several configurations for multi-piece rim assemblies on the market and Firestone manufactures at least two different designs. The plaintiff and Firestone agree that the components here were mismatched, both when Lampley disassembled and when he reassembled the wheel. The rim assembly here consisted of a 5 degree rim base, a FL 5 degree continuous side ring, and a FL lock ring. The FL 5 degree continuous side ring can be used with either a 5 degree rim base or a FL rim base. The problem Lampley encountered was that his FL lock ring was not designed to be used with a 5 degree rim base. The FL lock ring has a "toe" that is about 1/2" shorter than the 5 degree lock ring and is designed to be used with the FL rim base.

                gutter, the pressure of the inflated tire can cause the mechanism to separate with a tremendous explosion at any time after inflation.   The rim assembly is loose until the tire is inflated and the pressure forces the tire bead against the side flanges.   While the tire is being inflated, the interlocking mechanism is intended to hold the tire on the assembly and keep the continuous side ring in place
                

In the opinion of plaintiff's expert witness, Lampley's death was caused by the design flaw of the multi-piece rim system and the combination of the mismatched components. Because the inflated tire was pressing against the outside of the continuous side ring, he said it would have erroneously appeared to Lampley that the short toe lock ring was fully engaged. The expert indicated that the explosion occurred because the bead of the tire got caught on the toe of the lock ring, thus pushing it out of the rim base gutter hook. The expert further stated that the lack of a positive locking system presents an inherent design flaw, and that multi-piece rims have a propensity to explode even when the recommended lock ring is used. Firestone's expert testimony, on the other hand, indicated that the mismatched parts were safe and that Lampley's failure to correctly seat the lock ring in the rim base gutter hook caused the explosion. The expert contended that partial engagement of the lock ring would have been obvious to an experienced tire changer like Lampley.

Firestone did provide Steed Tire Service with an abundance of literature, including wall charts and safety manuals, warning of the dangers of mismatched or improperly assembled multi-piece rims. The plaintiff does not deny that Steed passed these warnings on to Lampley. Firestone also asserts that the subject components were stamped with information identifying their type, size, manufacturer and date of production.

Wilmer Lampley's estate brought suit against Firestone and Goodyear. After several amendments to the complaint, the plaintiff ultimately claimed that Firestone had violated the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine (AEMLD), and that Firestone negligently and wantonly placed the multi-piece rim assembly on the market and failed to warn Lampley of the dangers involved in using the rim. Firestone moved for summary judgment on the grounds that Lampley assumed the risk of his injury and that any duty to warn had been discharged by the warnings given to Steed Tire Service. The district court entered summary judgment for Firestone holding, as a matter of law, that Lampley assumed the risk of his injury and that Firestone had discharged its duty to warn because Firestone had a reasonable belief that Lampley's employer would advise him of the dangers associated with the rim assembly.

The plaintiff claimed Goodyear negligently and wantonly placed its tire on the market and failed to warn Lampley of the imminent dangers involved in using its tire with a multi-piece rim. The plaintiff also claimed Goodyear was liable under AEMLD. Goodyear moved the district court for summary judgment. Without making a finding of fact or law, the court assumed that multi-piece rims are unreasonably dangerous and defective in design, and held in favor of Goodyear because the plaintiff presented no evidence of a defect The plaintiff appeals the district court's final judgments for Firestone and Goodyear.

                in the tire. 1  The court thus declined to accept plaintiff's theory that Goodyear could be held liable for marketing tires particularly designed for mounting on an inherently dangerous rim assembly.   The court also held that the tire did not cause the deceased's injury because the tire exploded due to the defective rim and rings.   These findings are supported by Alabama law, which dictates that the manufacturer of a non-defective component part is not liable merely because the part is used in combination with another manufacturer's defective component that results in an unreasonably dangerous completed product.   The court further held the law imposed no duty on Goodyear to warn Lampley because he already knew of the dangers associated with mounting tires on a multi-piece rim
                

DISCUSSION

The Standard for Summary Judgment

In a summary judgment ruling we review de novo the district court's determination and application of Alabama law. Salve Regina...

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