Von Puckett v. Oakfabco, Inc.
| Decision Date | 02 June 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 23963,23963 |
| Citation | 132 Idaho 816,979 P.2d 1174 |
| Parties | Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 15,551 Royal Von PUCKETT and Carolyn Kay Puckett, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. OAKFABCO, INC., an Illinois corporation, formally known as Kewanee Boiler Corporation, doing business throughout the United States of America and transacting business within the State of Idaho; and Does 1 through 10, inclusive, Defendants-Respondents. Boise, December 1998 Term |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Vernon K. Smith, Jr., Boise, for appellants. Vernon K. Smith argued.
Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley, LLP, Boise, for respondents. Darrell G. Early argued.
This is a products liability case. Royal Von Puckett (Puckett) fell off a ladder and was severely injured while cleaning a boiler manufactured by Oakfabco. Seeking compensation for his injuries, Puckett sued Oakfabco. The trial court granted Oakfabco's motion for summary judgment, and Puckett appeals.
Puckett worked seasonally for HJB Mint Oil (HJB). In 1977 HJB purchased a boiler manufactured by Oakfabco, formerly known as Kewanee Boiler. HJB purchased the boiler through Jones Boiler Corporation, an Idaho corporation, for use as a component in its mint distillation process. After continual use, scale or water deposits build up inside the boiler, and to maintain the boiler's efficient operation, HJB had to regularly pressure wash the interior of the boiler. Puckett's duties included cleaning the boiler.
The boiler, as installed in HJB's operation, was eight feet tall in the shape of a long cylinder placed on its side and was installed on a large concrete foundation. The operation manual provided instruction on how to properly clean the boiler's interior. On top of the boiler was an opening called a man-way. To clean the boiler, a person must get to the man-way and use a hose to pressure wash the interior. During the event in question, Puckett propped a ladder against the boiler. He climbed on top of the boiler and proceeded to pressure wash the interior. Upon finishing, Puckett placed the hose on top of the boiler and stepped onto the ladder, placing his left foot on a rung above the point at which the ladder contacted the boiler. Simultaneously, Puckett reached through the rungs of the ladder to pick up the hose. Because the ladder was not secured, the combined effects of the wet concrete floor and Puckett placing his weight on the ladder above the point where it met the boiler caused the ladder to slip and then slide down off the boiler. Puckett's arms and legs were tangled in the ladder's rungs, so he was unable to free himself as he fell. The accident severely injured Puckett leaving him permanently disabled.
Puckett filed a complaint naming Oakfabco as a defendant. In the complaint, Puckett alleges negligent design, negligent failure to warn, strict liability in tort, breach of express and implied warranties, and fraud. Puckett alleges that the boiler manufacturer had a duty to incorporate safety features to prevent this type of accident or, in the alternative, to warn consumers of the inherent danger involved in cleaning the boiler. Both parties moved for summary judgment. After hearing argument, the district court granted Oakfabco's motion and dismissed the case.
The district court found that Oakfabco did not have a duty to incorporate safety features to prevent this type of accident. The court reasoned that this boiler and others like it are component parts of larger operations. Consequently, the party integrating a boiler into a larger system is better able to incorporate safety features such as attached ladders. Applied here, HJB was in a better position to protect its employees. Because HJB purchased the boiler from Jones Boiler Corporation, there was no evidence that Oakfabco knew of HJB's intended use of the boiler. Consequently, the court determined that HJB was better able to incorporate the safety features once the boiler was in place. Moreover, it was "uncontroverted that the placement and location of any ladder which might be incorporated into the boiler would depend upon the final application to which the boiler was placed." Therefore, because Oakfabco had no duty to incorporate safety features which may have prevented this accident, Puckett's claims stemming from the boiler's design fail.
The court also found that Puckett's claim of negligent failure to warn also fails. The risks of standing on a ladder to clean the boiler are so obvious that Oakfabco did not have a duty to warn its customers of the dangers. Because the statute of limitations had run on Puckett's claims for breach of express and implied warranty, those claims also failed. As for Puckett's claim for fraud, he did not provide any evidence of reliance, a key element. Therefore, viewing all facts in a light most favorable to Puckett, the district court found that there was no genuine issue as to at least one key element of each claim, and Oakfabco was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
Our review of a district court's ruling on a motion for summary judgment is the same as that required of the district court when ruling on the motion. Friel v. Boise City Hous. Auth., 126 Idaho 484, 887 P.2d 29 (1994). Pursuant to I.R.C.P. 56(c), summary judgment must be entered when "the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." I.R.C.P. 56(c). As when the motion is initially considered by the district court, this Court, on review, liberally construes the record in favor of the party opposing the motion and draws all reasonable inferences and conclusions in that party's favor. Farm Credit Bank of Spokane v. Stevenson, 125 Idaho 270, 869 P.2d 1365 (1994). If we determine reasonable people could reach different conclusions or draw conflicting inferences from the evidence, we will deny the motion. Id. at 272, 869 P.2d at 1367. However, if the evidence reveals no disputed issues of material fact, only a question of law remains, and this Court exercises free review. Id.
Puckett appeals, arguing the district judge improperly granted Oakfabco's motion for summary judgment. Puckett alleged five separate claims, each addressed and dismissed by the lower court. However, before addressing the merits of Puckett's appeal as to each of those claims, this Court must first address whether we will consider certain documents when evaluating Puckett's arguments.
On January 29, 1998, Puckett moved to augment the record on appeal. Over Oakfabco's objection, this Court granted the motion allowing Puckett to submit a copy of his brief opposing Oakfabco's motion for summary judgment along with its attachments. Those attachments include (1) a transcript from the deposition of Wendall Jones, (2) a portion of the transcript from the deposition of William Quong, (3) a copy of the operation manual for the boiler, and (4) pictures of the boiler as installed at the HJB facility.
Oakfabco correctly argues that I.R.C.P. 56(e) requires that items offered in support of or opposition to a motion for summary judgment must be attached to the party's affidavit verifying the items' authenticity. See Shacocass, Inc. v. Arrington Constr. Co., 116 Idaho 460, 463, 776 P.2d 469, 472 (Ct.App.1989); Johnson v. Homedale, 118 Idaho 285, 796 P.2d 162 (Ct.App.1990). Because Puckett submitted the items mentioned above to the lower court and now to this Court merely as attachments to his memorandum in response, Oakfabco contends they cannot be considered when evaluating Puckett's appeal.
Oakfabco's argument, while legally correct, is problematic. Oakfabco's counsel submitted copies of the Jones and Quong transcripts, noted above, attached to his own affidavit complying with I.R.C.P. 56(e). Consequently, those transcripts are properly part of the record. However, the index to the transcript from Quong's deposition, as submitted by Oakfabco, indicates that eight photographs of the boiler and a copy of the boiler's operation manual were attached to the deposition transcript as exhibits. As noted, Oakfabco submitted those transcripts attached to an affidavit, signed by counsel, verifying them to be true and correct copies. The Quong transcript, as submitted by Oakfabco, was not a true and correct copy. It does not include a copy of the operation manual nor the pictures. Rule 59(e) states: "Sworn or certified copies of all papers or parts thereof referred to in an affidavit shall be attached thereto or served therewith." I.R.C.P. 56(e) (emphasis added). Consequently, Oakfabco is in a strange position to complain that Puckett improperly submitted the operating manual and pictures.
Despite Oakfabco's counsel's misrepresentations, the burden remains on the party who wants to have information in the record to make sure that the information is, indeed, properly made part of the record. See, e.g., Chenoweth v. Sanger, 123 Idaho 189, 191, 846 P.2d 191, 193 (1993). While Puckett's counsel did attempt to get the manual and pictures before the judge, he failed to do so properly. Nothing in the record verifies that the operating manual or the pictures, as submitted to this Court, are authentic. Although Oakfabco should have included the manual and pictures with Quong's affidavit, Puckett had an opportunity below but failed to properly submit copies of the operation manual and pictures. Therefore, this Court will not consider the manual or pictures on appeal.
Puckett submitted an affidavit and report from an expert, Larry Stauffer, to the lower court the day of the hearing for Oakfabco's motion for summary judgment. In its written decision granting summary judgment, the district court stated:
The affidavit was untimely for the...
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