Riley v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

• Citation: 259 Mont. 128,856 P.2d 196
• Decision Date: 17 August 1993
• Docket Number: No. 91-143,91-143
• Parties: , Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 13,531 J. Robert RILEY, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC., Defendant and Respondent.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Montana

Page 196

856 P.2d 196

259 Mont. 128, Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 13,531

J. Robert RILEY, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC., Defendant and Respondent.

No. 91-143.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted Dec. 10, 1992.

Decided June 22, 1993.

Rehearing Denied Aug. 17, 1993.

David M. McLean (argued), Knight, Dahood, McLean & Everett, Anaconda, for plaintiff and appellant.

R.H. Bellingham (argued), Scot Schermerhorn, Moulton, Bellingham, Longo & Mather, Billings, for defendant and respondent.

GRAY, Justice.

J. Robert Riley appeals from an order of the Third Judicial District Court, Powell County, denying his motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or a new trial. We affirm.

We restate the issue on appeal as whether the District Court erred in directing a verdict on the failure to warn claim.

On May 3, 1980, J. Robert Riley (Riley) test drove a 1978 Honda GL1000 "Goldwing" motorcycle owned by his friend, Michael Dolce. Riley intended to drive the motorcycle from Missoula to Helena. Approximately eight miles east of Garrison Junction, however, Riley lost control of the motorcycle and drove onto a graveled area off the left shoulder of the highway. The motorcycle flipped as Riley attempted to negotiate it back onto the pavement, throwing Riley down a steep embankment. The accident rendered Riley a quadriplegic.

On April 28, 1983, Riley filed suit against American Honda Motor Company (Honda), the original distributor of the motorcycle. Riley asserted several negligence claims, as well as design defect, manufacturing defect and failure to warn claims under the theory of strict products liability. Riley abandoned the negligence claims prior to trial.

A jury trial began on September 17, 1990. Riley contended that the motorcycle had a propensity to wobble, and that a wobble caused him to lose control of the motorcycle. At the conclusion of Riley's case-in-chief, Honda moved for a directed verdict on the design defect, manufacturing defect and failure to warn claims. The District Court directed a verdict on the manufacturing defect and failure to warn claims; only the design defect claim was submitted to the jury. On September 27, the jury returned a verdict in Honda's favor, finding that the motorcycle was not in an unreasonably dangerous defective condition.

Riley subsequently moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. He alleged, among other things, that the directed verdict dismissing the failure to warn claim constituted an irregularity in the proceedings or an abuse of the court's discretion which prevented a fair trial. Riley appeals from the court's denial of his motion; his only asserted error relates to the directed verdict on his failure to warn claim.

Did the District Court err in directing a verdict on the failure to warn claim?

Riley's complaint alleged that Honda had failed to warn of an inherent danger in the use of the motorcycle. In support of his allegation that the motorcycle was inherently dangerous, Riley testified that the motorcycle began to "shimmy and shake" immediately prior to the accident. As a result of the "shimmy and shake," Riley asserted that he had difficulty remaining mounted on the motorcycle and that his right hand was shaken from the handlebar. He further testified that he was unable to prevent the motorcycle from drifting off the highway. Furthermore, Riley's expert witnesses testified that the 1978 Honda Goldwing motorcycle had a propensity to wobble and that the propensity was unreasonably dangerous.

At the end of Riley's case-in-chief, Honda moved for a directed verdict on the failure to warn claim. Honda asserted that there was no evidence of record that could support a jury verdict in favor of Riley on that claim. As a separate ground for the motion, Honda contended that the only defect developed by Riley's case was a design defect, and that a claim based on the failure to warn of the design defect was superfluous to the design defect claim. The District Court directed a verdict on the failure to warn claim, stating "the Court feels that this is a design case, and that there is no warning that would make this product safe under the Plaintiff's theory."

Our review of a directed verdict is governed by well-established principles. We consider only the evidence introduced by the party against whom the directed verdict is granted. If that evidence, when viewed in a light most favorable to the party, tends to establish the case made by the party's pleading, we will reverse the directed verdict. Boehm v. Alanon (1986), 222 Mont. 373, 379, 722 P.2d 1160, 1163. The test commonly used to determine if the evidence is legally sufficient to withdraw cases and issues from the jury is whether reasonable persons could draw different conclusions from the evidence. Boehm, 722 P.2d at 1163-64.

We will affirm a district court's grant of a directed verdict if the court's conclusion is correct; the reasons given by the court for granting the directed verdict are immaterial to our review. Laurie v. M. & L. Realty Corp. (1972), 159 Mont. 404, 408, 498 P.2d 1192, 1194. Here, we determine that the directed verdict on the failure to warn claim was proper, but for a different reason than that given by the District Court. We focus on whether Riley presented a prima facie case relating to his failure to warn claim. Where a party fails to present evidence establishing all elements of a prima facie case, a directed verdict is properly granted. Nicholson v. United Pac. Ins. Co. (1985), 219 Mont. 32, 37, 710 P.2d 1342, 1345.

Montana law recognizes a failure to warn claim as a distinct cause of action under the theory of strict products liability. In Brown v. North American Mfg. Co. (1978), 176 Mont. 98, 110, 576 P.2d 711, 718, we recognized that "a failure to warn of an injury causing risk associated with the use of a technically pure and fit product can render such product unreasonably dangerous." The elements of a failure to warn claim are the same as any other strict products liability claim:

(1) The product was in a defective condition, "unreasonably" dangerous to the user or consumer;

(2) The defect caused the accident and injuries complained of; and

(3) The defect is traceable to the defendant.

Brown, 576 P.2d at 716.

"A showing of proximate cause is a necessary predicate to plaintiff's recovery in strict liability." Brown, 576 P.2d at 719. While causation is ordinarily a question of fact for the trier of fact, it may be determined as a matter of law where reasonable minds can reach but one conclusion regarding causation. See Brohman v. State (1988), 230 Mont. 198, 202-03, 749 P.2d 67, 70. Because the causation element is dispositive in the case before us, we do not address whether Riley presented sufficient evidence on the other elements of his failure to warn claim.

Riley presents two separate arguments regarding the causation element of his failure to warn claim. He contends that his testimony relating to his respect for machinery and concern for safety was sufficient evidence from which to infer that he would have ridden the motorcycle differently had a warning of the propensity to wobble been given--creating a question of fact for the jury on the causation element. Alternatively, Riley contends that he is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he would have followed a warning, thus satisfying the causation element of the failure to warn claim.

It is true that the causation element in a failure to warn claim can be satisfied by evidence indicating that a warning would have altered plaintiff's use of the product or prompted plaintiff to take precautions to avoid the injury. 63 Am.Jur.2d, Products Liability, §§ 356-57 (1984); 9 American Law of Products Liability 3d, § 32:76 (1987). While we have not expressly stated this proposition, we have relied on such evidence in determining whether sufficient evidence supported a finding that a failure to warn was a proximate cause of plaintiff's injuries. In Krueger v. General Motors Corp. (1989), 240 Mont. 266, 783 P.2d 1340, plaintiff was injured while removing the front drive shaft from a General Motors four-wheel drive pickup truck. Parked on a sloping driveway and engaged in "park," the pickup rolled over plaintiff. The pickup was equipped with a newly designed transfer case which caused the pickup to act differently while engaged in park than a pickup equipped with a conventional transfer case. The jury found that General Motors' failure to warn of the difference was a proximate cause of the injuries.

On appeal, we determined that substantial evidence supported the jury's finding of proximate cause. Krueger, 783 P.2d at 1348. Integral to our determination was plaintiff's testimony that he would have altered his method of repairing the truck had he been warned that a pickup equipped with the new transfer case would not behave like a conventional four-wheel drive pickup; other witnesses injured under similar circumstances testified to the same effect. Krueger, 783 P.2d at 1348. We examine the record before us, then, to determine whether Riley presented evidence analogous to that which we relied on in Krueger--evidence establishing that a warning relating to the motorcycle's alleged propensity to wobble would have altered Riley's conduct.

Our review of the record indicates that Riley failed to establish a causal relationship between the lack of a warning and his injury. Unlike the plaintiff in Krueger, Riley did not testify that he would have altered his conduct had he been warned of the motorcycle's alleged propensity to wobble; nor did he present other witnesses to testify to that effect. He does not contend that he presented any direct testimony on causation.

Rather, Riley relies solely on his general testimony that he respected machinery and was concerned about safety to meet the causation element. Based on this testimony, he suggests that he "might...