Stanley v. Schiavi Mobile Homes, Inc.

• Citation: 462 A.2d 1144
• Parties: Catherine F. STANLEY v. SCHIAVI MOBILE HOMES, INC. v. MARLETTE HOMES, INC.
• Decision Date: 01 July 1983
• Court: Supreme Judicial Court of Maine (US)

Page 1144

462 A.2d 1144

Catherine F. STANLEY v. SCHIAVI MOBILE HOMES, INC. v. MARLETTE HOMES, INC.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Argued Nov. 16, 1982.

Decided July 1, 1983.

Berman, Simmons, Laskoff & Goldberg, P.A., William D. Robitzek (orally), Gary Goldberg, Lewiston, for plaintiff.

Norman & Hanson, Peter J. DeTroy (orally), Portland, for Schiavi Mobile Homes.

Petruccelli, Cohen, Erler & Cox, Joel C. Martin (orally), John Paul Erler, Portland, for Marlette Homes.

Before McKUSICK, C.J., and GODFREY, NICHOLS, ROBERTS, CARTER and WATHEN, JJ.

ROBERTS, Justice.

Following a jury trial, Catherine F. Stanley appeals from a judgment of the Superior Court, Kennebec County, entered against her claim for damages resulting from a fall in a mobile home manufactured by Marlette Homes, Inc. and displayed for sale at Schiavi Mobile Homes, Inc., of Augusta. Stanley objects to (1) the pretrial dismissal of the breach of warranty and strict liability counts in her complaint, (2) the admission of evidence of the non-occurrence of similar falls, and (3) the alleged errors in the jury instructions. We affirm the judgment of the Superior Court.

Catherine F. Stanley, the plaintiff, went shopping for a new mobile home at Schiavi Mobile Homes. A mobile home manufactured by Marlette Homes was on display and open to the public. The living room floor in this particular mobile home was elevated approximately three inches higher than the adjacent floor. A three-foot-high wrought iron railing divided the living room from the rest of the mobile home. The floor plan, Appendix A, indicates where the railing was located in the mobile home. The railing had a four-foot-wide opening which permitted people to enter the living room. On both sides of the four-foot opening, decorative wrought iron upright posts rose from the top of the step to the ceiling, as shown in the photograph, Appendix B. The floor leading to the step, the step, and the living room floor were covered with identical carpeting. The plaintiff tripped over this step, injuring her left shoulder and her left leg.

Stanley's original complaint against Schiavi alleged negligence as well as breach of implied contract and implied warranty. Later, Stanley amended her complaint to include a claim of strict liability against Schiavi. In a third-party complaint, Schiavi asserted a claim for indemnification and contribution against Marlette. Marlette subsequently filed a cross-claim against Schiavi for contribution. The plaintiff filed a cross-claim against Marlette, alleging negligence and strict liability. ¹

On the morning of trial, the court dismissed the contract, warranty, and strict liability claims and permitted Stanley to proceed against the defendants only on the negligence theory. The presiding justice received little assistance from counsel in making these rulings. ² His reasons are not clearly articulated in some respects. The court was in error if, as Stanley claims, it ruled that she could proceed on only one theory of liability. We must review separately, however, the claims dismissed as to each defendant.

I.

A. Claims Against Schiavi

When considering a motion to dismiss under M.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), all well- pleaded material allegations are admitted, Beckett v. Roderick, 251 A.2d 427, 430 (Me.1969), and construed in favor of the pleader. Dom J. Moreau & Son v. Federal Pacific Electric Co., 378 A.2d 151, 152 (Me.1977). A complaint is sufficient to withstand a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss if it avers facts which would entitle a plaintiff to relief upon some theory or if it asserts every necessary element of a claim. 378 A.2d at 153.

Both the warranty claim and the strict liability claim against Schiavi must fail for the simple reason that the complaint did not allege facts sufficient to establish Schiavi's status as seller of the mobile home in question. ³ The pleaded facts asserted that the plaintiff was in the mobile home as a business invitee. The complaint in this case did not indicate that any sale by Schiavi ever occurred. ⁴ Because no sale occurred, Schiavi did not impliedly warrant to the plaintiff that the mobile home was merchantable or fit for its particular purpose. See 11 M.R.S.A. §§ 2-314 to -315 (1964). ⁵ The plaintiff, therefore, could not recover against Schiavi under the breach of implied warranty theory.

Similarly, the dismissal of the strict liability claim against Schiavi was correct. The strict liability statute, 14 M.R.S.A. § 221 (1980) ⁶ provides in part that "[o]ne who sells any goods or products in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer ... is subject to liability for physical harm thereby caused to a person...." Schiavi did not sell the product in question, defective or otherwise, and thus lacked the status of "one who sells." ⁷

B. Strict Liability Claim Against Marlette

Section 221 would apply to Marlette since it is alleged to have manufactured and sold a product in a defective condition to Schiavi. The statute permits recovery by injured persons who have not purchased the product or have not entered into any contractual relation with the seller. Although the dismissal of the strict liability claim against Marlette was error, Marlette argues that the error was harmless because negligence and strict liability theories when applied to design defect cases are essentially the same. According to the defendant, all the elements of the strict liability claim were presented to the jury. ⁸

Currently, there is a split of opinion as to whether a distinction exists between negligence and strict liability theories of recovery when applied to cases based upon design defects. Some courts have stated that in actions involving design defects the theories are essentially the same. See Garrison v. Rohm & Haas Co., 492 F.2d 346, 351 (6th Cir.1974); Balido v. Improved Machinery, Inc., 29 Cal.App.3d 633, 639, 105 Cal.Rptr. 890, 895 (1973); Jones v. Hutchinson Manufacturing Co., 502 S.W.2d 66, 69-70 (Ky.1973). Distinguishing negligence actions, other courts state that strict liability is imposed regardless of the manufacturer's exercise of reasonable care. Hoppe v. Midwest Conveyor Co., 485 F.2d 1196, 1199 (8th Cir.1973); Beshada v. Johns-Manville Products Corp., 90 N.J. 191, 199, 447 A.2d 539, 544 (1982); Roach v. Kononen, 269 Or. 457, 464, 525 P.2d 125, 129 (1974); Boatland of Houston, Inc. v. Bailey, 609 S.W.2d 743, 749 (Tex.1980); see also Haugen v. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co., 15 Wash.App. 379, 387-88, 550 P.2d 71, 76 (1976). Without addressing this conflict of opinion, we hold that under the facts of this case any error in dismissing the strict liability count against Marlette was harmless. M.R.Civ.P. 61.

In actions based upon defects in design, negligence and strict liability theories overlap in that under both theories the plaintiff must prove that the product was defectively designed thereby exposing the user to an unreasonable risk of harm. See Phillips, A Synopsis of Developing Law of Products Liability, 28 Drake L.Rev. 317, 322 (1978); compare Restatement (Second) of Torts § 398, at --- (1965) (chattel made under dangerous design) with 14 M.R.S.A. § 221 (plaintiff must prove element that product was in defective condition unreasonably dangerous). Such proof will involve an examination of the utility of its design, the risk of the design and the feasibility of safer alternatives. Boatland of Houston, 609 S.W.2d at 749. The specific design of which Stanley complains serves only an aesthetic purpose. The design presents the risk of not perceiving the step to which the user is exposed. Avoidance of the risk involves either eliminating the step design or installing a carpet with contrasting colors or patterns. Neither solution involves a loss of utility, marketability, or production that warrants exposing users to the risk of harm. It follows, therefore, that when the jury decided Marlette was not at all negligent, it of necessity found that the design created no unusual risk of harm to the user. That finding has rational support in the evidence. We hold, therefore, under the facts of this case and upon a jury finding of no negligence, any error in the dismissal of the strict liability claim was harmless.

Moreover, even if we were to find a distinction between the two theories, upon the particular facts of this case, the jury instructions as to the claim against Marlette were consistent with a strict liability theory. The court charged the jury that a manufacturer who designs a product that is dangerous for use is liable for the physical harm caused by its failure to exercise reasonable care. The court, therefore, instructed the jury that a manufacturer of a dangerously designed product which causes physical harm is negligent. In contrast with those instructions are the instructions as to the negligence claim against Schiavi in which the court discussed the necessity of showing Schiavi's knowledge or constructive knowledge. The court made no mention of Marlette's knowledge or constructive knowledge of that danger. See Hoppe, 485 F.2d at 1199; Haugen, 15 Wash.App. at 387-88, 550 P.2d at 76; see also Robbins v. Farmer's Union Grain Terminal Ass'n, 552 F.2d 788, 794-95 n. 15 (8th Cir.1977) (knowledge element not part of strict liability action). Under these circumstances, any error was indeed harmless.

II.

On appeal, Stanley asserts that the trial justice improperly admitted evidence of the nonoccurrence of similar accidents. During the trial, Schiavi attempted to establish that there had never been any similar accidents. The parties stipulated that the condition of the mobile home had not been altered between the date of manufacture and the date of trial. One of Schiavi's employees testified that it was common practice both in the mobile home industry and at Schiavi's to permit people to browse through the homes. In addition, he stated that between the time the mobile home in question arrived on the...