U.S. v. General Motors Corp.
| Citation | 183 U.S.App.D.C. 30,561 F.2d 923 |
| Decision Date | 18 August 1977 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 75-1751,75-1752,s. 75-1751 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, a corporation. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, a Delaware Corporation v. Brock ADAMS et al., Appellants. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (District of Columbia) |
Neil H. Koslowe, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., with whom Rex E. Lee, Asst. Atty. Gen., Earl J. Silbert, U. S. Atty., and William Kanter, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., were on the brief, for appellants. Morton Hollander, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., also entered an appearance for appellants.
James Robertson, Washington, D. C., with whom Michael L. Burack and Cornelius J. Golden, Jr., Washington, D. C., and Frazer F. Hilder, Detroit, Mich., were on the brief, for appellee.
Before WRIGHT, LEVENTHAL, and ROBB, Circuit Judges.
Opinion for the court per curiam.
The facts and circumstances surrounding this case are fully stated in the dissent. While the court agrees with much of Judge Leventhal's scholarly opinion, we believe that the Government's motion for summary judgment should have been granted by the District Court, not only on the issue whether a defect existed in the steering pitman arm of the 1959-60 model Cadillac automobiles, but also on the issue whether the defect was related to motor vehicle safety. The evidence is uncontradicted that General Motors sold six times as many pitman arm replacements for the 1959-60 Cadillac models as for adjacent model years; that steering pitman arm failures have occurred while these models were being driven; and that when the steering pitman arm fails the driver loses control of the car. We hold that, under the statute, these uncontradicted facts demonstrate an "unreasonable risk of accidents" stemming from the defect. 15 U.S.C. § 1391(1) (1970).
The judgment of the District Court is reversed and these cases are remanded for determination of appropriate relief.
So ordered.
In the principal case before us, the government seeks enforcement against General Motors of a defect notification order, as well as fines. The district court denied summary judgment to the government. After trial, it held for General Motors.
The majority concludes that the Government should have been given a summary judgment, and remands for determination of appropriate relief.
I concur in the view that the district court judgment in favor of General Motors cannot stand. In my view, however, the case is one that is not appropriate for summary judgment and requires a retrial in accordance with what I consider to be sound principles. These principles are to some extent set forth in our prior opinion in the Wheels case. United States v. General Motors Corp., 171 U.S.App.D.C. 27, 518 F.2d 420 (1975) (Wheels ). I think it would be most convenient if I proceed at this point as if I were writing an opinion for the court presenting what I would consider the correct disposition.
This case concerns the standard for proving that a defect in an automobile model "relates to motor vehicle safety" within the meaning of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1381 et seq. (the Act). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (the Administration) ordered General Motors (GM) to issue defect notifications 1 concerning the pitman arms of 1959 and 1960 Cadillacs, which break as a result of steering stress, causing sudden loss of steering control. An action seeking enforcement of this order was tried de novo 2 in the district court with the trial judge as the finder of fact.
The existence of a defect was conceded. GM offered proof that the pitman arm failures occur only in high stress situations, which involve low speed and parking maneuvers. The government introduced evidence of at least one incident in which pitman arm failure at lesser steering stress produced a dangerous situation as well as expert testimony on normal human reaction to loss of steering at low speed. GM presented a "risk analysis" which predicts the likely number of future injuries or deaths to be expected in the remaining service life of the affected models.
The district court found that GM had successfully rebutted the government's "slim prima facie case" on the basis of the risk analysis. In so deciding, the district court applied an incorrect legal standard as to the burden of presenting data of past harm caused by the defect. The correct standard leads to the conclusion that it was "clearly erroneous" for the district court to find that GM met its burden of rebutting the government's prima facie case.
In 1972, acting on consumer complaints brought to its attention by the Center for Auto Safety, the Administration began an investigation of pitman arms failures in 1959-60 Cadillacs. The pitman arm is a critical component of the steering system. It transfers the angular motion of the steering wheel and shaft to lateral movement of the drag link and tie rods which turn the front wheels. When the pitman arm fails, steering control is suddenly lost. In September, 1972, the Administration requested information from Cadillac's manufacturer, GM, about the pitman arm. GM's summary of its investigation stated that, as of September 1972, it had sold approximately six times as many replacement pitman arms for the 1959-60 models as for the adjacent years' models. 3 Furthermore, the GM presentation showed that 1959-60 pitman arm design was quite different from that of those models and that on June 10, 1960, GM changed the hardness specification for the 1959-60 pitman arm "after end of regular production on service replacement parts," "to improve performance" under extreme loads. 4
During 1973, the Administration reviewed the material presented by GM and customer complaints, contracted for testing of pitman arms, 5 and conducted hearings in which GM participated. On January 10, 1974, the Administrator notified GM that he had "determined that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists with respect to the steering pitman arm on 1959-60 model year Cadillac automobiles, in that these pitman arms are subject to sudden, and catastrophic failure, causing loss of steering control, and resulting in an unreasonable risk of accidents, deaths, and injuries to persons using the highways". 6 The Administration directed GM to notify owners of the affected Cadillacs of the defects and urged GM to recall them for replacement at GM's expense. 7
On January 11, 1974, GM filed suit in the District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to set aside the Administration order. 8 A temporary restraining order (TRO) against the effectuation of the January 10 order was granted on the same day but after a hearing the TRO was vacated and a preliminary injunction denied. 9 That same day, Feb. 13, 1974, the government commenced an enforcement action in the District Court for the District of Columbia. 10 In addition to enforcement of its notification order, the government sought imposition of a $400,000 civil penalty, pursuant to § 109(a) of the Act. 11
Both parties sought a change of venue of the other's case to their chosen forum. The parties and judges recognized that the interests of justice and convenience of all called for consolidation of the cases raising identical issues. In a joint order of July 8, 1974, the district courts ordered the cases consolidated in the District of Columbia. 12
Both parties moved for summary judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). An action for enforcement of a notification order, under § 110(a), 15 U.S.C. § 1399(a), is tried de novo in the district court. 13 The government has the burden of proof on the two elements required by the Act: 1) that a "defect" exists and 2) that the defect is "related to motor vehicle safety," i. e., involves an "unreasonable risk of accidents occurring as a result of the design, construction, or performance of motor vehicles . . . ." 14
The district court effectively granted summary judgment in favor of the government on the issue of existence of a defect. It based that judgment on 1) the disproportionately high replacement pitman arm sales, in the absence of any serious contention that this was due to causes other than a disproportionately high rate of pitman arm failures, and 2) tests performed by both parties showing that "the pitman arm can fail from metal fatigue after a large number of high stress maneuvers such as occur in parking and turning." 15 On appeal, GM does not challenge this determination.
15. Dr. Tetelman used other data as well, but the Court relies on that portion of his analysis which is based on the life history of these automobiles. 61
On the issue of safety-relatedness, the district court denied summary judgment to both sides. It acknowledged that:
(t)here is a certain appeal to the government's argument that a defect which may result in a loss of steering control is, ipso facto, a safety-related defect under the Act. One need only ask whether he would consider loss of steering control even at a very slow speed, a reasonable or unreasonable risk. 16
However, GM contended that the pitman arm failures could only occur in low-speed, high-stress maneuvers and that the absence of reported instances of death or injury resulting from pitman arm failure in the long history of the affected cars showed an absence of "unreasonable risk." The district court stressed the standard of an unreasonable risk and the "commonsense" approach to safety questions under the Act. 17 It concluded:
This is an issue of fact which cannot be resolved by logic alone. And it is an issue of material fact under the law...
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