Ryan v. Case New Holland, Inc.

• Decision Date: 22 December 2016
• Docket Number: No. 51,062–CA,51,062–CA
• Citation: 211 So.3d 611
• Parties: Robert D. RYAN, Plaintiff–Appellee v. CASE NEW HOLLAND, INC., Defendant–Appellant
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

211 So.3d 611

Robert D. RYAN, Plaintiff–Appellee

v.CASE NEW HOLLAND, INC., Defendant–Appellant

No. 51,062–CA

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

Judgment rendered December 22, 2016

MCGLINCHEY STAFFORD, PLLC, By: Patrick J. O'Cain, Counsel for Appellant

FROST BROWN TODD, LLC, By: D. Christopher Robinson, Counsel for Appellant

NELSON, ZENTER, SARTOR & SNELLINGS, L.L.C., By: Fred Williams Sartor, Jr., Counsel for Scott Equipment Company, LLC

PHARIS LAW OFFICES, By: Fred Andrew Pharis, Counsel for Appellee

Before BROWN, LOLLEY, STONE, JJ.

STONE, S.

The plaintiff, Robert Ryan ("Ryan"), sued Case New Holland, Inc. ("CNH"), claiming that a defect in his used CNH tractor caused a fire that destroyed the tractor, damaged his barn, and damaged property inside the barn. A jury found the tractor was redhibitorily defective and unreasonably dangerous. Ryan was awarded damages and attorney's fees. For the reasons stated herein, we reverse the trial court's ruling in part and affirm in part.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On November 15, 2010, Ryan purchased a used CNH Magnum 210 tractor ("the tractor") from Ayres Implement Company ("Ayres") for $113,190.75. At the time of its purchase, the tractor had 585 hours of use on it and was still under its two-year, 2000–hour factory warranty. On New Year's Eve 2011, after 13 months and 300 hours of additional use, the tractor caught fire while inside Ryan's barn. The fire destroyed the tractor, and damaged the barn, and the property within the barn. State Farm Insurance Company paid Ryan $83,500.00 for the tractor and $15,882.48 for the damaged barn and property.

Prior to Ryan purchasing the tractor, Ayres experienced numerous electrical and electronic problems with the tractor. After Ryan purchased the tractor, Scott Equipment ("Scott") began servicing it. From the time of the purchase until the fire in 2011, over $7,700.00 in warranty claims were made on the tractor, the majority of them for electrical failures.¹ On the afternoon of the fire, Ryan and his brother-in-law, Moran Adams, used a forklift and power washer to clean the tractor. Afterwards, the two men moved the tractor into the barn and left. About eight to ten minutes later, Ryan and Adams indicated they smelled something burning so they ran back to the barn, and immediately noticed fire coming from the cab of the tractor. Ryan, Adams, and other witnesses² testified that when they first saw the fire, the tractor was the only thing burning. Ryan and Adams attempted to hook a chain to another tractor and use it to pull the burning tractor from the barn, but were unsuccessful. Fire Chief Randall Duschene of the Sandy Bayou Volunteer Fire Department testified that upon arriving on the scene, he saw nothing other than the tractor burning and there was no question the fire originated from the tractor.

Subsequently, Ryan filed a petition with cumulated causes of action in redhibition and products liability against CNH. In addition to alleging manufacturing defects, the petition listed the earlier problems Ryan experienced with the tractor. Additionally, the petition included an action for negligence against Scott³ for its failure to diagnose the defects prior to the fire.

Prior to trial, both CNH and Scott filed motions for summary judgment. In response to the motions, Ryan produced the affidavit of Mark V. Sutherland, P.E., a certified fire and explosion investigator. In his affidavit, Sutherland opined that the fire originated at the starter cables where the cables pass between the battery and the exhaust pipe on the lower right side of the tractor. Sutherland stated the probable cause of the fire was a manufacturing defect in which the routing of the starter cables was too close to a hot surface, which resulted in the melting of the insulation between the two conductors of the tractor. According to Sutherland, prior to the fire, the routing of the cables could have easily been shifted further away from the exhaust system, which would have prevented the ensuing fire. Sutherland based his theory on a scientific method found in the National Fire Protection Association 921 ("NFPA 921").

Based on Sutherland's affidavit, the trial court denied both motions for summary judgments. Thereafter, CNH and Scott filed motions to disqualify Sutherland as an expert and Scott then filed a second motion for summary judgment. All these motions were denied.

Prior to the jury receiving the case, Ryan's attorney objected to the jury verdict form containing any general reference to comparative fault, specifically Ayres as a non-defendant third party. Nonetheless, the trial court allowed Ayres to be mentioned on the verdict form.

The jury determined the cause of the fire was a redhibitory defect that existed in the tractor at the time it was manufactured. The jury also found the defect rendered the tractor unreasonably dangerous in construction, or composition and design. The jury awarded Ryan $30,000 for the reduction of the price of the tractor,⁴ $80,000 for the damage to Ryan's barn and other property, and $10,000 in attorney's fees. Ryan was awarded judicial interest from the date of the jury's verdict. The jury attributed 70% of the fault to CNH, and 30% of the fault to Ayres for failing to inform Ryan of its previous issues with the tractor. The trial court dismissed all claims against Scott and awarded no expert witness fees to Ryan.

Thereafter, Ryan filed a motion for new trial and/or judgment notwithstanding the verdict. In his motion, Ryan argued the following: the jury's reduction amount was contrary to the law and evidence, and should be increased from $30,000.00 to $100,000.00; the award for property damages was impermissibly low; the jury disregarded the court's instruction on the collateral source rule; the verdict form improperly provided for comparative negligence that had not been adequately proven; the attorney's fees were abusively low; the judicial interest on the reduction price should have been awarded from the date of sale; and, the expert witness fees should be set and taxed as court costs.

CNH also filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict asserting there was insufficient evidence to prove a manufacturer's defect. In the alternative, CNH argued their obligation to pay Ryan the reduction price of the tractor should have been reduced by the 30% of the fault allocated to Ayres. Additionally, CNH argued the judicial interest on the attorney's fees should be owed from the date of final judgment, and not from the date of the jury's verdict.

The trial court denied CNH's motion in its entirety. As it pertained to Ryan's motion, the trial court struck the allocation of fault to Ayres and apportioned 100% of fault to CNH. Furthermore, on the reduction of price issue, the trial court denied Ryan's motion for a new trial if CNH agreed to an additur of $60,000.00 to the overall verdict. The trial court gave the following reasons for its judgment:

The price of the tractor, including sales tax and expenses, was $113,190.75 which would indicate that based on the $30,000 reduction, the jury believed that a reasonable buyer and seller would have agreed on a purchase price of $83,190.75 for a tractor that the plaintiff used for 13 months and approximately 300 hours.

***

In considering to grant or deny JNOV, this court is not allowed to weigh the evidence and substitute its judgment for that of the jury; however, this court is of the opinion that no reasonable person would have paid $83,190.75 for a tractor that they were only going to use for approximately 13 months and 300 hours. Even if the jury had considered, as defendant asserts, that all repairs that were performed were almost entirely covered under warranty, that Mr. Ryan was otherwise satisfied with the operation of his tractor, that the tractor contributed to at least one year of plaintiff's farming income, and that rental of a similar tractor for one year alone, according to Ken Gibson would be in the range of $25,000; the reduction of $30,000 is inadequate. No reasonable explanation for the $30,000 reduction is apparent to this court.

CNH agreed to the additur but reserved its right to appeal it. CNH now appeals.

ARGUMENTS AND DISCUSSION

CNH's Arguments

Daubert Motion

In its first assignment of error, CNH argues the trial court erred in denying its Daubert motion and allowing Ryan's expert, Mark Sutherland, to testify as to unsupported opinions, and offering entirely new and different opinions during trial.

Before trial, CNH filed a motion to preclude Sutherland from testifying and the trial court denied the motion. In his expert report and pretrial deposition, Sutherland opined that CNH defectively designed the routing of the tractor's battery too close to the exhaust, defectively designed the battery cable to include a splice, and defectively manufactured the splice in some unknown manner. CNH argues Sutherland had no factual or scientific basis for his opinion.

Moreover, CNH argues that despite its repeated objections, the trial court allowed Sutherland to go beyond the scope of the opinions he initially disclosed in his report and deposition, and offer new theories based on trial testimony.

A district court's findings of fact will not be disturbed on appeal unless the reviewing court finds that they are clearly wrong or manifestly erroneous. Stobart v. State through Dep't of Transp. & Dev., 617 So.2d 880 (La. 1993) ; Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La. 1989). To reverse a fact finder's determination, the appellate court must find from the record that a reasonable factual basis does not exist for the finding of the trial court and that the record establishes that the finding is clearly wrong. Stobart, supra. If the findings are reasonable in light of the record reviewed in its entirety, an appellate court may not reverse, even though convinced that, had it been sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently. Stobart, supra ; Lewis v. State T ...