Englebrick v. Worthington Industries, Inc.

944 F. Supp. 2d 899, 2013 WL 2007025, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69996
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedMay 13, 2013
DocketCase No. 8:08-cv-01296-CJC(MLGx)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 944 F. Supp. 2d 899 (Englebrick v. Worthington Industries, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Englebrick v. Worthington Industries, Inc., 944 F. Supp. 2d 899, 2013 WL 2007025, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69996 (C.D. Cal. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS

CORMAC J. CARNEY, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs Bradley Englebrick and Roxanne Hernandez (“Plaintiffs”) brought this products liability action against Defendants Worthington Industries, Inc. (‘WII”) [902]*902and Worthington Cylinders Wisconsin, LLC (“WCW”) (together, “Worthington”), asserting that they suffered severe burns and other physical and emotional injuries after an allegedly defective MAPP gas cylinder (the “Cylinder”) designed, manufactured, sold, and distributed by Worthington leaked gas and burst into flames.1 Mr. Englebrick suffered severe burns in the resulting fire, and Ms. Hernandez sustained injuries when she jumped out a window to escape the fire. Worthington maintains that Plaintiffs’ negligence and abuse of the Cylinder, connected to their use of methamphetamine (“meth”), was the actual cause of the fire. Following more than four years of litigation, the Court began a bench trial on February 12, 2013. At trial, Plaintiffs admitted to testifying falsely regarding their history of meth use at their depositions and in a response to a request for admission. Before the Court is Worthington’s motion to dismiss the entire action based on Plaintiffs’ false deposition testimony and discovery response. Because Plaintiffs’ repeated lies about their meth use and addiction have compromised the integrity of the legal proceedings and prejudiced Worthington, the Court GRANTS Worthington’s motion to dismiss.

II. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs filed the operative Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) on July 6, 2011. (Dkt. No. 292.) ' In the SAC, Plaintiffs allege that Worthington “designed, tested, manufactured, marketed, sold, distributed, supplied, wholesaled, and retailed” the Cylinder. (SAC ¶ 7.) The Cylinder was meant to be fitted with a torch tip, which ignites when it is affixed to a MAPP gas cylinder. (Id. ¶ 14) Plaintiffs allege that Mr. Englebrick purchased the Cylinder on Thursday, April 3, 2008 from a Lowe’s store. (Id.) On Monday, April 7, 2008, Mr. Englebrick took the Cylinder and torch tip into the apartment he shared with Ms. Hernandez. (Id. ¶ 16.) Plaintiffs allege that the Cylinder had a leak at its neck, which caused gas to escape into the apartment. Ms. Hernandez attempted to light a candle near the Cylinder, which caused the leaked gas to catch fire. This flash fire ignited the leak in the Cylinder, causing a small flame to shoot from its neck. Mr. Englebrick noticed the flame and attempted to move the cylinder out of the apartment. At some point, however, he dropped the Cylinder, and it exploded. Plaintiffs allege that this explosion was the result of a metallurgical failure of the Cylinder’s brazed “bushing” at its neck. (Id. ¶ 23.) The flames from the Cylinder caused third degree burns to over seventy percent of Mr. Englebrick’s body and forced Ms. Hernandez to jump out of a window to escape the flames. (Id. ¶¶ 20, 22-24.)

Worthington has a very different theory of the cause of the fire. Worthington maintains that the fire was not caused by a metallurgical defect, but rather by Plaintiffs’ negligence and abuse of the Cylinder. Specifically, Worthington contends that, at the time of the fire, Plaintiffs were actually using the Cylinder as a heat source in order to smoke meth. While using the Cylinder in this way, Mr. Englebrick burned himself and threw the Cylinder to the ground. The force of the Cylinder hitting the ground, Worthington maintains, [903]*903was the cause of the explosion and resulting fire.

A. Depositions and Request for Admission

The parties conducted extensive discovery over the course of more than four years of litigation. As part of discovery, Worthington deposed Mr. Englebrick twice, once on August 12, 2009 and again October 28, 2009, and deposed Ms. Hernandez once on August 11, 2009. Worthington also sought requests for admissions from Plaintiffs. During the depositions and in the requests for admissions, Plaintiffs were asked numerous questions regarding their history of meth use, both on the date of the fire and pri- or to it. Plaintiffs repeatedly denied ever using the Cylinder to smoke meth and denied being under the influence of meth at the time of the fire.

Though Mr. Englebrick admitted at his first deposition to having used meth in the past, he downplayed the extent of his drug use, especially his use near the time of the fire. Specifically, Mr. Englebrick testified that: (1) he had not used meth the Saturday before the fire, (Englebrick Dep. Vol. I 35:13-16); (2) he had not used meth the Sunday before the fire, (id. 35:18-20); (3) he did not have any meth in his house on the day of the fire, (id. 38:10-12); (4) he did not have any drug paraphernalia in his house on the day of the fire, or the Sunday or Saturday before the fire, (id. 40:19-41:3; 45:19-23); and (5) he had not taken any illegal drugs since the day of the fire, (id. 47:7-9).

At his second deposition, Mr. Englebrick again downplayed the extent of his meth use. He specifically testified that: (1) he was not under the influence of any illegal drugs on the day of the fire, (Englebrick Dep. Yol. II 6:21-23); (2) he had never taken meth seven days in a week, (id. 109:3-5); and (3) he had only used meth by snorting and smoking it, (id. 110:4-6). Mr. Englebrick also presented to Worthington a box of cold medication which he stated he believed he had been taking at the time of the fire. (Id. 180:16-25; 191:25-192:4.) Mr. Englebrick testified that he decided to look for the box of cold medication after Worthington had asked a question at the previous deposition about behind-the-counter cold medications. (Id. 190:20-191:3.)

Worthington also inquired into Mr. Englebrick’s meth use in numerous requests for admissions. In his December 14, 2009 response to a series of requests of admissions, Mr. Englebrick again denied being under the influence of meth at the time of the fire:

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 3:
Admit that you, Bradley Englebrick, were under the influence of meth at the time of the accident on April 7, 2008.
RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 3:
Deny.

(Trial Exh. 786 at 2.)

Ms. Hernandez was also asked numerous questions at her deposition regarding her use of meth. Like Mr. Englebrick, Ms. Hernandez downplayed the extent of her meth use. For example, she testified that she had only smoked meth once, “years ago,” (Hernandez Dep. 38:19-22), and that she and Mr. Englebrick never stayed “up all night doing meth,” (id. 48:9-10).

B. Worthington’s Defense

Worthington strongly suspected that Plaintiffs were not being truthful about their meth use and the events leading up to the fire. In crafting their defense, Worthington conducted extensive discovery on these points. For example, Worthington [904]*904retained three experts — Dr. Spihler, a toxicologist, Dr. Smith, a drug use expert, and Craig Hammer, a drug enforcement officer with the Department of Justice — in order to “(a) obtain further information on drug use by plaintiffs, (b) understand the impact of drugs on plaintiffs and (c) identify ways to determine how to prove plaintiffs were lying about their drug use.” (Dkt. No.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
944 F. Supp. 2d 899, 2013 WL 2007025, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69996, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/englebrick-v-worthington-industries-inc-cacd-2013.