Ridgway v. Ford Motor Co.
| Decision Date | 31 January 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-00-00637-CV.,04-00-00637-CV. |
| Citation | 82 S.W.3d 26 |
| Parties | Jack RIDGWAY and Linda Ridgway, Appellants, v. FORD MOTOR CO., Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Rob Hughes, Jr., Tina Torres, Law Office of Peter Torres, Jr., San Antonio, for Appellant.
Kurt Kuhn, Brown McCarroll, L.L.P., Austin, for Appellee.
Sitting: ALMA L. LÓPEZ, Justice, CATHERINE STONE, Justice and KAREN ANGELINI, Justice.
Opinion by ALMA L. LÓPEZ, Justice.
This appeal of a summary judgment concerns whether the evidence is sufficient to raise a fact issue about a manufacturing defect alleged under theories of negligence and products liability. We affirm the trial court's judgment in part and reverse and remand the remainder of the case to the trial court for further proceedings.
On July 17, 1997, Jack Ridgway suffered severe burns when his used 1995 Ford F-150 (the "truck") burst into flames while he was driving it. He received second degree burns on twenty percent of his body. Ridgway was the truck's third owner. The accident occurred less than a month after Ridgway purchased the truck. At the time of purchase, the vehicle had amassed 54,792 miles. The first owner modified the truck by installing a spotlight on the driver's side front door frame, but otherwise did not make any significant repairs to the vehicle and traded it in after approximately 7,000 miles. The second owner drove an additional 45,000 miles in the truck for two years before it was repossessed. During his two years of ownership, the second owner took the truck in for repairs at Red McCombs Ford ("Red McCombs") on four different occasions, three of which were for repairs to the truck's fuel system.
Following the accident, the Ridgways asserted claims for products liability, breach of warranty, violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and negligence against both Red McCombs and Ford Motor Company ("Ford"). Red McCombs and Ford both responded to the Ridgways' claims with motions for summary judgment. In response to these motions, the Ridgways nonsuited Red McCombs.
The Ridgways' two remaining claims against Ford are for products liability and negligence due to a manufacturing defect. They claim that the fire was the result of an unspecified defect in the fuel system and/or the electrical system. Mr. Ridgway's account is supported by the affidavit of Bill Greenless, who conducted a visual inspection of the truck and concluded that, from his visual inspection, the fire originated in the engine block due to an electrical malfunction. Appellants also provided evidence from the truck's prior owners and the title history to the vehicle. Ford asserted that there was no evidence of a product defect or a safer design alternative. Ford further argued for summary judgment, claiming that there was insufficient circumstantial evidence. The trial court granted Ford's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the Ridgways' claims. The Ridgways appeal to this Court claiming that they have produced sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.
Appellate review of a summary judgment is conducted de novo. See Coleman v. Cintas Sales Corp., 40 S.W.3d 544, 547 (Tex.App. — San Antonio 2001, no pet.). In Texas, a party may move for a traditional summary judgment and/or a no-evidence summary judgment. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 166a(c) 166a(i). It is a well established practice in Texas that when a defendant moves for summary judgment, he must show as a matter of law that the plaintiff has no cause of action against him. See Citizens First Nat'l Bank v. Cinco Exploration, 540 S.W.2d 292, 294 (Tex. 1976). In a summary-judgment analysis, we must consider the evidence in a light most favorable to the non-movant, and indulge every reasonable inference and doubt in the non-movant's favor. See Nixon v. Mr. Prop. Mgmt. Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548-49 (Tex.1985); Valores Corporativos S.A. de C.V. v. McLane Co., 945 S.W.2d 160, 162 (Tex.App. — San Antonio 1997, writ denied).
To be entitled to a traditional summary judgment, a defendant must disprove at least one element of each of the plaintiff's theories of recovery or plead and conclusively establish each element of an affirmative defense. See Gen. Mills Rests., Inc. v. Tex. Wings, Inc., 12 S.W.3d 827, 832-33 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2000, no pet.). A traditional summary judgment will be upheld only if the record shows that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment, as a matter of law. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 166a(c); Valores, 945 S.W.2d at 162. Provided that the defendant establishes a right to a traditional summary judgment, the burden then shifts to the plaintiff to provide evidence that creates a genuine issue of material fact, nullifying the defendant's claim. See id. at 832.
A no-evidence summary judgment is best described as a pre-trial directed verdict. See Roth v. FFP Operating Partners, L.P., 994 S.W.2d 190, 195 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 1999, pet. denied). In a no-evidence motion, the movant must plead and prove that there is no evidence of one or more of the essential elements of the adverse party's claim or defense. A no-evidence motion for summary judgment shifts the burden to the non-movant to present summary-judgment evidence raising a genuine fact issue. See Lampasas v. Spring Ctr., Inc., 988 S.W.2d 428, 432 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1999, no pet.). We must determine, in a light most favorable to the non-movant, whether the evidence establishes a question of material fact entitling the non-movant to a trial after the non-movant has set forth evidence. See Gen. Mills, 12 S.W.3d at 832-33. The non-movant is entitled to a trial if more than a scintilla of evidence is presented that raises a genuine issue of material fact. See id. at 833. More than a scintilla of evidence is present when the evidence reaches a level that "enable[s] reasonable and fair-minded people to differ in their conclusions." See Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc. v. Havner, 953 S.W.2d 706, 711 (Tex.1997).
The Ridgways contend that the trial court erred in granting Ford's motion for summary judgment. The trial court did not elaborate as to which form of summary judgment it granted. Therefore, we must keep in mind the levels of evidence needed to defeat both traditional and no-evidence summary judgments. If we find that the trial court erred in granting the motion for summary judgment, we must remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings. See id.
Ford correctly states in its brief that the case hinges upon whether the Ridgways provided sufficient circumstantial evidence to avoid summary judgment. Ford claims that the proffered circumstantial evidence fails because the evidence does not show any defect in the truck when it left Ford's control and the evidence is so weak that it is insufficient to prove any defect. Ford also claims that summary judgment is proper because the Ridgways cannot produce evidence of a safer alternative design.
In a circumstantial evidence case, the plaintiff must present sufficient evidence so that a fact issue may be inferred. See Summers v. Fort Crockett Hotel Ltd., 902 S.W.2d 20, 26 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1995, writ denied). Ford asserts that the Ridgways attempted to rely solely on the fact that a fire occurred. The mere fact that an accident occurred does not lend sufficient proof that the truck was defective. See Hernandez v. Nissan Motor Corp., 740 S.W.2d 894, 895 (Tex.App.-El Paso 1987, writ denied). However, Ford's assertion that the Ridgways relied solely on the fact that a fire occurred is not in line with the actual summary judgment evidence presented. Mr. Ridgway testified as an eyewitness and his testimony was substantiated by an expert witness who had inspected the vehicle.
Our duty in this appeal is to narrowly focus upon whether the Ridgways surpassed the level of necessary evidence to defeat summary judgment. In a no-evidence analysis, we must seek to discover whether Mr. Ridgway's first-hand account of the accident and an expert's affidavit provide more than a scintilla of evidence creating a question of material fact, which consequently, entitles the Ridgways to a trial on the merits. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 166a(i). In a traditional analysis, we must let the trial court's determination stand only if there is no genuine issue of material fact. See Valores, 945 S.W.2d at 162.
The Ridgways' two claims rest upon alleged manufacturing defects. A manufacturing defect exists when a product does not conform to the design standards and blueprints of the manufacturer and the flaw makes the product more dangerous and therefore unfit for its intended or foreseeable uses. USX Corp. v. Salinas, 818 S.W.2d 473, 483 n. 8 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 1991, writ denied); Ford Motor Company v. Pool, 688 S.W.2d 879, 881 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 1985), aff'd in part on other grounds, rev'd in part on other grounds, 715 S.W.2d 629 (Tex.1986). The manufacturing defect theory is based upon a consumer expectancy that a mass-produced product will not differ from its counterparts in a manner which makes it more dangerous than the others. USX Corp., 818 S.W.2d at 477 n. 2; Pool, 688 S.W.2d at 881.
To establish a manufacturing defect, a plaintiff must demonstrate the finished product deviates either in construction or quality from the specifications or planned output in a way that renders it unreasonably dangerous. See Am. Tobacco Co., Inc. v. Grinnell, 951 S.W.2d 420, 434 (Tex.1997). If a plaintiff has no direct evidence of a specific manufacturing defect, he may offer evidence of the product's malfunction as circumstantial proof of the defect. Ford Motor Co. v. Gonzalez, 9 S.W.3d 195, 199 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 1999, no pet.). An alleged malfunction, in turn, may be established by testimony from the product's user about the circumstances surrounding the event in question. See Sipes v. Gen. Motors Corp., 946 S.W.2d 143, 155...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Ford Motor Co. v. Ridgway
...we hold that the court of appeals erred in holding that the evidence was sufficient, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals, 82 S.W.3d 26, and render judgment that the plaintiffs take Jack Ridgway sustained serious injuries when his two-year-old Ford F-150 pick-up truck caught fire......
-
Oglesby v. Medtronic, Inc.
... ... v ... Mendez, 204 S.W.3d 797, 800 (Tex. 2006) (quoting ... Ford Motor Co. v. Ridgway, 135 S.W.3d 598, 600 (Tex ... 2004). To prevail on a ... ...