Brownlee v. Fexco Corp. CA2/5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 23, 2021
DocketB304913
StatusUnpublished

This text of Brownlee v. Fexco Corp. CA2/5 (Brownlee v. Fexco Corp. CA2/5) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brownlee v. Fexco Corp. CA2/5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

Filed 12/22/21 Brownlee v. Fexco Corp. CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

TAMIKO BROWNLEE, B304913

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC548886) v.

FEXCO CORP.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Mel Red Recana, Judge. Reversed and remanded. Collinson, Daehnke, Inlow & Greco and Vicki Greco for Defendant and Appellant. Gordon, Edelstein, Krepack, Grant, Felton & Goldstein, Roger L. Gordon and Joshua M. Merliss for Plaintiff and Respondent.

_________________________________ Tamiko Brownlee filed a demand for arbitration against several parties, including Fexco Corporation, which resulted in an arbitration award in favor of Fexco in this personal injury case. The trial court vacated the award after finding that the arbitrator did not determine all of the issues submitted for decision. On appeal from the order vacating the award, Fexco contends the arbitrator determined all of the issues submitted to him that were necessary to resolve the matter, because he identified all of the claims alleged in the demand and expressly found strict product liability was the sole claim that Brownlee pursued in the arbitration proceeding. We conclude Brownlee failed to meet her burden to show that the arbitrator completely overlooked an issue submitted for determination. To the extent that the trial court found the arbitrator wholly ignored an issue submitted for determination, that finding is not supported by the limited record presented to the court. Therefore, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Injury and Complaint

A production company hired Brownlee to perform stunts for a reality television show. She executed an agreement with the production company in June 2012 containing the following arbitration provision: “The parties agree that if any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement cannot be settled through direct discussions, they shall endeavor first to settle the controversy or claim by a mediation administered by

2 JAMS under its applicable rules. IF THE DISPUTE IS NOT OTHERWISE RESOLVED THROUGH DIRECT DISCUSSIONS OR MEDIATION, THE PARTIES AGREE THAT THE CONTROVERSY OR CLAIM, INCLUDING THE SCOPE OR APPLICABILITY OF THIS AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE, SHALL THEN BE RESOLVED BY FINAL AND BINDING CONFIDENTIAL ARBITRATION ADMINISTERED BY JAMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS STREAMLINED ARBITRATION RULES AND PROCEDURES . . .” Frank Ceglia is a licensed pyrotechnician. He formed Fexco in 1984 to rent special effects equipment to production companies, which he uses to perform his services. The production company hired Ceglia to work on the same show as Brownlee. Fexco rented a large metal cylinder known as a “propane popper” to the production company for Ceglia’s use in creating an explosive effect known as a “fireball” for the show. A propane popper produces a brief fireball with no residual fuel remaining. Ceglia had purchased the propane popper approximately 30 years earlier from the designer and manufacturer Jack Bennett and rented it solely to entertainment production companies. On June 21, 2011, Ceglia ignited the special effect with a live studio audience. Brownlee suffered third degree burns from proximity to the fireball effect. Brownlee filed a complaint on June 17, 2014. She filed an amended complaint on March 9, 2015, against several parties for negligence, premises liability, product liability, peculiar risk, and ultrahazardous activity based on the personal injuries that she sustained from use of the propane popper. Her product liability cause of action contained conclusory allegations based on strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty theories. On

3 January 12, 2016, Brownlee amended the complaint to substitute Fexco as a Doe defendant. On March 18, 2016, the trial court granted several motions to compel arbitration, including a motion brought by Fexco.

Arbitration Proceedings

On January 29, 2018, Brownlee submitted a demand for arbitration against several parties (collectively referred to as the defendants), including Fexco. The product liability cause of action was stated as a single cause of action, including conclusory allegations based on theories of strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, which the arbitrator denied on November 14, 2018. The pleadings submitted and the order denying summary judgment were not made part of the record in the trial court or on appeal. The parties agree that Brownlee dismissed all of the defendants except Fexco prior to the start of the arbitration. In June 2019, Brownlee submitted an arbitration brief which began, “Claimant has read and considered the Order on [the defendants’] Motion for Summary Judgment and Claimant intends on focusing at this arbitration on her claim of strict product liability against Fexco, a California corporation.” Brownlee’s arbitration brief argued that the propane popper had a design defect under both the consumer expectation test and the risk benefit test. She also argued that Fexco was not subject to the arbitration agreement and should not have been ordered to arbitration. In addition, she argued that the

4 comparative fault provisions of Proposition 51 did not apply to strict liability for injury caused by a defective product. Under the heading “Claimant Has A Prima Facie Case Establishing A Product Defect,” she explained the two tests to establish strict liability for a design defect are the consumer expectations test and the risk benefit test. A paragraph at the end of the section stated, “Even using the negligence standard for assessing design of a product requires balancing the likelihood and gravity of potential harm from a given design against the burden of the measures required to avoid the harm. If the likelihood and gravity of the harm outweigh the design’s utility, the manufacturer or distributor may be found negligent for having placed the product on the market regardless of any product warnings the manufacturer may have provided. Merrill v. Navegar, Inc., (2001) 26 Cal.4th 465, 478–481, 483.” Brownlee argued that the propane popper was a product subject to strict product liability, not a service as had been claimed by Fexco. In addition, liability disclaimers are not enforceable as to strict product liability, and recovery was not limited to the immediate purchaser of the product. In conclusion, Brownlee stated, “Claimant expects to submit proof of a prima facie case against Fexco under both the consumer expectation test and risk benefit test and does not believe Fexco has a legal defense.” Prior to the start of the arbitration, Brownlee filed the declaration of expert witness Morris Farkas. In relevant part, Farkas declared that Fexco, as the distributor of a manufactured product, failed to analyze the design or the safety of the product, eliminate the design defect by adding a stabilizing base, or provide written warnings or instructions regarding hazards from

5 the use of the product. When Fexco placed the product on the market, it was imperative to stabilize the base and provide minimum warnings and instructions concerning dangers. It was foreseeable that Brownlee could miss her mark and unintentionally move into the zone of danger.

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Brownlee v. Fexco Corp. CA2/5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brownlee-v-fexco-corp-ca25-calctapp-2021.