Chrysler Corp. v. Batten

450 S.E.2d 208, 264 Ga. 723, 94 Fulton County D. Rep. 3982, 1994 Ga. LEXIS 909
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedDecember 5, 1994
DocketS94G0425
StatusPublished
Cited by119 cases

This text of 450 S.E.2d 208 (Chrysler Corp. v. Batten) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chrysler Corp. v. Batten, 450 S.E.2d 208, 264 Ga. 723, 94 Fulton County D. Rep. 3982, 1994 Ga. LEXIS 909 (Ga. 1994).

Opinions

Hunstein, Justice.

Patricia Batten was driving a Chrysler LeBaron purchased in May 1978 when she was injured in a two-car collision in October 1988. Batten and her husband brought suit against Chrysler Corporation and the driver of the other vehicle in 1990 seeking damages for her injuries and his loss of consortium. Included among the allegations as to Chrysler were claims under both strict liability and negligence theories that the seat belt mechanism in the LeBaron was defectively designed and that Chrysler negligently failed to warn of the danger posed by the defectively-designed seat belt. Chrysler moved for summary judgment, which was granted solely on the basis that plaintiffs’ [724]*724complaint was barred by the statute of repose. OCGA § 51-1-11 (b) (2), (c). The Court of Appeals reversed as to the claims sounding in negligence. Batten v. Chrysler Corp., 211 Ga. App. 173 (438 SE2d 647) (1993). Writ of certiorari was granted to consider the Court of Appeals’ opinion.

1. The complaint in this case sets forth two separate causes of action in negligence: one based on the sale of a defective product and the other based on the failure to warn of a danger arising from the use of that product. Accord Mack Trucks v. Conkle, 263 Ga. 539, 540 (1) (436 SE2d 635) (1993) (negligent failure to warn is a negligence theory of products liability recognized under final sentence in OCGA § 51-1-11 (c)). The distinction between these causes of action reflects the different duties that devolve upon manufacturers. While a manufacturer has a duty to exercise reasonable care in manufacturing its products so as to make products that are reasonably safe for intended or foreseeable uses, see generally Greenway v. Peabody Intl. Corp., 163 Ga. App. 698 (294 SE2d 541) (1982), “the manufacturer of a product which, to its actual or constructive knowledge, involves danger to users, has a duty to give warning of such danger. [Cit.]” Ford Motor Co. v. Stubblefield, 171 Ga. App. 331, 335 (319 SE2d 470) (1984). See also Stiltjes v. Ridco Exterm. Co., 192 Ga. App. 778, 780 (2) (b) (386 SE2d 696) (1989). Breach of these different duties hence gives rise to separate and distinct claims. While a factual overlap between these claims is possible, in that some products are defective solely due to an inadequate or absent warning, e.g., Continental Research Corp. v. Reeves, 204 Ga. App. 120 (419 SE2d 48) (1992); see also 2 American Law of Products Liability 3d, § 28:10, the claims are not necessarily coextensive, see, e.g., Banks v. ICI Americas, 264 Ga. 732 (450 SE2d 671) (1994) (design defect claim viable although failure to warn claim preempted by federal law), and factual distinctions between the two claims are readily apparent in those cases where the duty to warn of a danger arises from a manufacturer’s post-sale knowledge acquired months, years, or even decades after the date of the first sale of the product. See Mack Trucks, supra; see also, e.g., Owens-Illinois v. Zenobia, 601 A2d 633 (II) (Md. 1992); Cover v. Cohen, 461 NE2d 864 (III) (NY 1984).

In failure to warn cases, the duty to warn arises whenever the manufacturer knows or reasonably should know of the danger arising from the use of its product. Stiltjes, supra; Stubblefield, supra; see also Maleski, Ga. Products Liability (2d ed.), §§ 1-5, 7-1. An actual or constructive knowledge requirement is consonant with Georgia tort law in general, see, e.g., Alterman Foods v. Ligon, 246 Ga. 620 (272 SE2d 327) (1980) (premises liability); Kemp v. Rouse-Atlanta, 207 Ga. App. 876 (429 SE2d 264) (1993) (negligent hiring and/or retention), and is in accord with the position taken by foreign jurisdictions [725]*725and legal treatises. See, e.g., Cover, supra, 461 NE2d at 871; Hermes v. Pfizer, Inc., 848 F2d 66 (A) (5th Cir. 1988); see also Restatement (2d) of Torts, § 402A, Comment j (seller is required to give warning “if he has knowledge, or by the application of reasonable, developed human skill and foresight should have knowledge” of the danger, id. at p. 353); Prosser and Keeton, The Law of Torts (5th ed.), § 96 (2).

2. OCGA § 51-1-11 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

(b) (2) No action shall be commenced pursuant to this subsection with respect to an injury after ten years from the date of the first sale for use or consumption of the personal property causing or otherwise bringing about the injury.
(c) The limitation of [subsection (b) (2)] regarding bringing an action within ten years from the date of the first sale for use or consumption of personal property shall also apply to the commencement of an action claiming negligence of a manufacturer as the basis of liability, except an action seeking to recover from a manufacturer for injuries or damages arising out of the negligence of such manufacturer in manufacturing products which cause a disease or birth defect, or arising out of conduct which manifests a willful, reckless, or wanton disregard for life or property. Nothing contained in this subsection shall relieve a manufacturer from the duty to warn of a danger arising from use of a product once that danger becomes known to the manufacturer.

The ten-year statute of repose was enacted in order to address problems generated by the open-ended liability of manufacturers so as to eliminate stale claims and stabilize products liability underwriting. Love v. Whirlpool Corp., 264 Ga. 701 (1) (449 SE2d 602) (1994). Hence, strict liability actions filed more than ten years after the “date of the first sale for use or consumption of’ the product are completely barred. OCGA § 51-1-11 (b) (2); Hatcher v. Allied Products Corp., 256 Ga. 100 (1) (344 SE2d 418) (1986). Subsection (c)1 extends the ten-year statute of repose to negligence actions, but differs from subsection (b) (2) by providing for two exceptions to the statute of repose, i.e., where the manufacturer’s negligence resulted in a product causing disease or birth defect, or where the injuries or damages arose [726]*726out of conduct manifesting a “willful, reckless, or wanton disregard for life or property.” See Love, supra. Where either of these exceptions applies, a plaintiff is authorized to maintain his or her cause of action based on the sale of a defective product notwithstanding the fact that the action is initiated more than ten years from “the date of the first sale.” OCGA § 51-1-11 (c).

3. As to plaintiffs’ claims based on the 1978 sale of the LeBaron automobile with its allegedly defectively-designed seat belt retractor mechanism, the claims accrued after the enactment of OCGA § 51-1-11 (c), compare Browning v. Maytag Corp., 261 Ga.

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Bluebook (online)
450 S.E.2d 208, 264 Ga. 723, 94 Fulton County D. Rep. 3982, 1994 Ga. LEXIS 909, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chrysler-corp-v-batten-ga-1994.