Tipton v. Michelin Tire Co.

• Decision Date: 05 December 1996
• Docket Number: No. 95-5589,95-5589
• Citation: 101 F.3d 1145
• Parties: Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 14,812 Jackie TIPTON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MICHELIN TIRE COMPANY, Defendant-Appellant, Kelsey-Hayes Company, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 1145

101 F.3d 1145

Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 14,812

Jackie TIPTON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MICHELIN TIRE COMPANY, Defendant-Appellant Kelsey-Hayes Company, Defendant.

No. 95-5589.

United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

Argued May 17, 1996.

Decided Dec. 5, 1996.

David F. Pratt (briefed), Varellas, Pratt & Cooley, Lexington, KY and F. Thomas Conway (argued), Louisville, KY, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Penny R. Warren and William H. McCann (argued and briefed), Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, Lexington, KY, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before: WELLFORD, NORRIS, and DAUGHTREY, Circuit Judges.

WELLFORD, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff, Jackie Tipton, owner and operator of Tipton Motor Company in Irvine, Kentucky, seeks damages against defendant, Michelin Tire Company ("Michelin"), based on theories of products liability and negligence. In the course of business on June 3, 1989, Tipton attempted to mount a used, sixteen-inch Michelin tire on to what Tipton thought was a sixteen-inch rim, manufactured by Kelsey-Hayes Company ("Kelsey-Hayes"). In actuality, however, the rim's radius was 16.5 inches, giving rise to what is known in the tire industry as a "mismatch" situation. The sidewall of the Michelin tire bore the following statement: "MOUNT ONLY ON APPROVED 16-INCH RIMS."

Using his mounting machine, Tipton placed the uninflated tire onto the rim. He then "seated" the tire's bead against the rim's flanges, which is normally accomplished by adding relatively small bursts of air pressure until the tire's bead pops into place. Once a tire is properly seated, it can safely be inflated to normal operating pressures. In mismatch situations, such as the one in controversy, there is a risk of the tire bursting if the person attempts to inflate the tire without it being properly seated.

In this case, Tipton removed the tire assembly from the mounting machine, placed it on the garage floor, and began inflating the tire. Warnings on the mounting machine cautioned against overinflating the tire when attempting to seat the bead and also warned against standing over or near the tire when inflating it. Tipton, however, failed to realize that the bead was not seated properly, continued to add air pressure to the tire, and exceeded the recommended tire pressure. The ensuing explosion caused the entire tire assembly to be catapulted toward Tipton, seriously injuring him.

The used tire at issue in this case was obtained by Tipton from an establishment selling old car parts and equipment, ¹ was manufactured by Michelin in January, 1987, and contained what is known as a 19-strand bead. ² In 1984, Michelin began testing a 21-strand bead in its sixteen-inch tires. In that year, Michelin built and sold approximately 10,000 tires with the 21-strand bead. In 1986 and 1987, Michelin manufactured, sold and surveyed approximately 385,000 tires with the 21-strand bead. Having purportedly concluded in 1991 that the new bead design did not significantly reduce tire performance and was more cost effective, Michelin began incorporating 21-strand beads into all of its sixteen-inch tires. ³ Among other assertions, Tipton argues that the 19-strand bead in the disputed tire was defective.

In September, 1989, Tipton filed suit in Kentucky state court against Michelin and Kelsey-Hayes, alleging both negligence and strict liability. The action was promptly removed to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction. In September 1994, Tipton settled his claim against Kelsey-Hayes, and the remaining action against Michelin proceeded to trial.

At trial, Tipton's tire expert, George Edwards, opined that the tire at issue was defective based on his review of mismatch burst test data, which revealed an alleged relative weakness of the 19-strand bead as compared to Michelin's 21-strand bead and also as compared to a hexagonal bead designed by Goodyear, both of which were available in 1987. Another expert, Dr. Kenneth Laughery, testified that the tire was defective due to its lack of a warning as to the dangers of mismatch. Laughery reached this conclusion because his research and experience indicated that most tire changers are unaware of the possibility of mismatching a sixteen-inch tire and a 16.5-inch rim. Laughery also testified that Tipton's accident might have been avoided had Michelin somehow made an effort to warn, both on- and off-product, of the potential damages due to mismatch.

The jury awarded Tipton total damages of $301,149.87, apportioning fault as follows: (1) fifty-two percent to Tipton; (2) twenty-seven percent to Kelsey-Hayes; and (3) twenty-one percent to Michelin. In connection with the verdict, two interrogatories were propounded to the jury:

(1) Do you believe from the evidence that the Defendant, Michelin Tire Corporation, manufactured the tire in question, that the tire was in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user, and that the defective condition was a substantial factor in causing the accident and Mr. Tipton's injuries?

(1A) Do you believe from the evidence that the Defendant, Michelin Tire Corporation, failed to exercise ordinary care in the design, manufacture, sale or distribution of the tire and that the failure to do so was a substantial factor in causing the injuries to Mr. Tipton?

The jury answered "no" to the first question, but responded "yes" to the second question as the sole basis of Michelin's liability. The district court denied Michelin's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and/or for a new trial. This timely appeal ensued.

As indicated above, the jury found Michelin liable based on negligence, but did not find Michelin liable based upon strict liability. Michelin contends that this verdict is fatally inconsistent. When faced with such a claim, we look for a reasonable way to read the answers to interrogatories as expressing a coherent and reasonable view of the case. Gallick v. Baltimore & O.R. Co., 372 U.S. 108, 119, 83 S.Ct. 659, 665-66, 9 L.Ed.2d 618 (1963). We make this consistency determination by referring to the jury charge and the total context of the special verdict. ⁴

In the case at bar, the district court instructed the jury as follows with respect to the strict liability claim:

[F]ind for Plaintiff if you are satisfied from the evidence as follows:

(a) that as manufactured by Michelin Tire Corporation the tire in question was in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous for use by a person or persons expected to use or be exposed to it; and

(b) that the unreasonably dangerous nature of the tire was a substantial cause of the accident and injury to Mr. Tipton.

In addition, the instructions defined the term "unreasonably dangerous" as:

creat[ing] such a risk of accidental injury to a prospective user that an ordinarily prudent company engaged in the manufacture of similar products, being fully aware of the risk, would not have put it on the market.

A product is also "unreasonably dangerous" if use of the product in a foreseeable manner involves substantial risk of injury, and the manufacturer fails to give adequate warning of such danger.

The district court gave the following charge on the issue of negligence:

It was the duty of the Defendant, Michelin Tire Corporation, to exercise ordinary care in the design, manufacture, sale and distribution of the tire in question. If you believe that Michelin failed to exercise ordinary care and that such failure was a substantial factor in causing the injuries to Mr. Tipton, you will find for the Plaintiff. Otherwise, you will find for Michelin.

"Ordinary care" as applied to the Defendant ... means such care that an ordinarily prudent tire manufacturer would exercise in like or similar circumstances.

By its answers to the interrogatories, the jury found that the tire was not defective nor unreasonably dangerous, but that Michelin had been, in some respect, negligent in the design, manufacture, sale, or distribution of the tire. As indicated above, Michelin argued that the verdict was inconsistent in its motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The district court disagreed, stating that since "the tire was used in a manner for which it was not intended, the jury may not have found that the tire was defective [or] unreasonably dangerous, but may have determined that the Defendant failed in its duty of reasonable care in manufacturing the product." Furthermore, the district court noted one Kentucky case, wherein the court permitted a finding of liability on the basis of negligence with a contrary conclusion as to strict liability without constituting an inconsistent verdict. See Byrd v. Proctor & Gamble Mfg. Co., 629 F.Supp. 602, 603 (E.D.Ky.1986). ⁵

On appeal, Michelin argues that in "design defect" cases, which include failure to warn cases, there is no real difference between strict liability and negligence, citing Montgomery Elevator Co. v. McCullough, 676 S.W.2d 776 (Ky.1984), and Jones v. Hutchinson Mfg., Inc., 502 S.W.2d 66 (Ky.1973). We disagree with that argument as a general proposition, because although the concepts of strict liability and negligence may overlap in some areas, an inadequate warning may give rise to separate and distinct causes of action under either theory of recovery. See Byrd, 629 F.Supp. at 605. In negligence claims, the focus is on the conduct of the actor, whereas in products liability cases, the focus is on the condition of the product. McCullough, 676 S.W.2d at 780; see also Leonard v. Uniroyal, Inc., 765 F.2d 560, 568-69 (6th Cir.1985).

The district court in Byrd explained in detail the two "distinct but overlapping" theories under which a warning can be inadequate in a product case under Kentucky law. Id. at 605 & n. 4; see also C & S Fuel, Inc. v. Clark Equipment Co., 552 F.Supp. 340, 347 (E.D.Ky.1982) (comparing the concepts of strict liability and negligence). The first theory involves a "warning as a part of the design." Id. In such a case, a product is unreasonably...