Fernandez v. Tamko Building Products, Inc.

2 F. Supp. 3d 854, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30042, 2014 WL 905115
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Louisiana
DecidedMarch 7, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 12-518-SDD-SCR
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2 F. Supp. 3d 854 (Fernandez v. Tamko Building Products, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fernandez v. Tamko Building Products, Inc., 2 F. Supp. 3d 854, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30042, 2014 WL 905115 (M.D. La. 2014).

Opinion

RULING

SHELLY D. DICK, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by the Defendant, Tamko Building Products, Incorporated (“Defendant” or “Tamko”).1 Plaintiffs, Jorge Fernandez and Renee Fernandez (“Plaintiffs” or “Plaintiff”2), have filed an Opposition to the motion.3 For the reasons which follow, the Court finds that the Defendant’s motion should be granted in part and denied in part.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Number 15 felt is a saturated felt under-layment used during the roofing process to provide a temporary moisture barrier which protects the wood deck from the elements. Once a roof is completed, the felt provides a secondary moisture barrier which protects the wood deck from moisture that may seep beneath the shingles. After installation, and before the shingles are installed, the felt underlayment is a walking surface used by roofing installers.

Eagle Roofing Company (“Eagle Roofing”) was hired to repair the roof of a home that had been damaged by a hail storm. Eagle Roofing subcontracted the roofing job to Edgar Jiminez (“Jiminez”), the direct employer of Plaintiff Jorge Fernandez and Inmar Torres. Eagle Roofing Manager David Mancuso (“Mancuso”) allegedly ordered # 15 roofing underlayment from Advanced Building Products in Harahan, Louisiana.4 As Plaintiff, an experienced roofer, scaled the steeply gabled roof upon which he was working, the roofing felt allegedly tore, allegedly causing him to fall and sustain serious injuries.5

This Court is called to decide whether the roofing felt provided an unreasonably [857]*857dangerous walking surface and whether Tamko, the felt manufacturer, adequately warned of the danger of the felt tearing while being walked upon. Tamko has moved for summary dismissal on the grounds that, because the actual felt involved in this case was discarded, the Plaintiff lacks sufficient evidence that the felt was unreasonably dangerous. On the warning issue, Tamko contends that the risk presented was that of falling, and that although Tamko did not warn of the possibility of the felt tearing under the demand of foot traffic, Tamko did warn of the risk of falling.

The Court declines to summarily dismiss Plaintiffs defective product claim merely because the actual product in question was discarded. The Court finds that the felt in question may be shown to be unreasonably dangerous in construction or composition through the use of an exemplar that is demonstrated to be an accurate surrogate for the original.

As to the warning claim, the Court finds that the risk of harm was that of falling, and Tamko did warn, both in writing and pictorially, of that risk. Thus, the Plaintiffs warning claims will be dismissed.

II. LAW AND ANALYSIS

A. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment should be granted if the record, taken as a whole, “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 a judgment as a matter of law.”6 The Supreme Court has interpreted the plain language of Rule 56(c) to mandate “the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.”7 A party moving for summary judgment “must ‘demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact,’ but need not negate the elements of the nonmovant’s case.”8 If the moving party “fails to meet this initial burden, the motion must be denied, regardless of the nonmovant’s response.”9

If the moving party meets this burden, Rule 56(c) requires the nonmovant to go beyond the pleadings and show by affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, or other admissible evidence that specific facts exist over which there is a genuine issue for trial.10 The nonmovant’s burden may not be satisfied by conclusory allegations, unsubstantiated assertions, metaphysical doubt as to the facts, or a scintilla of evidence.11 Factual controversies are to be resolved in favor of the nonmovant, “but only when there is an actual controversy, that is, when both parties have submitted evidence of contradictory facts.”12 The Court will [858]*858not, “in the absence of any proof, assume that the nonmoving party could or would prove the necessary facts.”13 Unless there is sufficient evidence for a jury to return a verdict in the nonmovant’s favor, there is no genuine issue for trial.14

B. The Louisiana Products Liability Act (“LPLA”) 15

The LPLA contains an exclusive remedy provision limiting a plaintiffs theories of recovery against a manufacturer of an allegedly defective product to those established by the LPLA.16 “To maintain a successful products liability action under the LPLA, a plaintiff must establish four elements: (1) that the defendant is a manufacturer of the product; (2) that the claimant’s damage was proximately caused by a characteristic of the product; (3) that this characteristic made the product ‘unreasonably dangerous’; and (4) that the claimant’s damage arose from a reasonably anticipated use of the product by the claimant or someone else.”17 Under Louisiana law, a product can be unreasonably dangerous in construction or composition; in design; due to an inadequate warning; or because it does not conform to an express warranty of the manufacturer about the product.18 The plaintiff bears the burden of proving that a product is unreasonably dangerous.19

Plaintiff claims the TAMKO # 15 was unreasonably dangerous in its construction or composition, and due to an inadequate warning or failure to warn. The Court turns to a discussion of these claims and the applicable law and jurisprudence.

1. Unreasonably Dangerous in Construction or Composition

Plaintiff contends that the TAMKO # 15 installed on this particular job was defective in construction or composition as contemplated by the LPLA20 Relying on his experts’ testing and testimony, Plaintiff contends that TAMKO # 15 underlayment “should never be used on steep sloped roofs ...”21 Plaintiff further argues that his experts’ testing and testimony establish that TAMKO # 15 is not strong enough to withstand the weight of the foot traffic of a roofer weighing 132 pounds (the weight of Plaintiff) on a 10 on 12 steep roof. One of Plaintiff’s experts testified that TAMKO # 15 should never be used by roofers on any roof having a 7 on 12 slope or greater.22

The Defendant argues that this theory of recovery is not available to the Plaintiff because the allegedly defective product was discarded following the incident. Thus, Defendant contends that “[a]ny claim that the product was ‘unreasonably [859]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2 F. Supp. 3d 854, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30042, 2014 WL 905115, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fernandez-v-tamko-building-products-inc-lamd-2014.