Fisher v. Multiquip, Inc.

96 A.D.3d 1190, 949 N.Y.S.2d 214

This text of 96 A.D.3d 1190 (Fisher v. Multiquip, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fisher v. Multiquip, Inc., 96 A.D.3d 1190, 949 N.Y.S.2d 214 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Stein, J.

Appeals (1) from an order of the Supreme Court (Demarest, J.), entered November 12, 2010 in Franklin County, which, among other things, granted a motion by defendant Multiquip, Inc. for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and all cross claims against it, and (2) from an order of said court, entered May 20, 2011 in Franklin County, which denied plaintiffs motion for renewal/reargument.

In September 2003, plaintiff was severely injured while attempting to clear concrete out of a cylinder inside a concrete pump owned by plaintiff and manufactured by defendant Multiquip, Inc. (hereinafter defendant). At the time that plaintiff was injured, he and his supervisor, Richard Haas, were preparing to use the pump in the course of their employment with third-party defendant, Costs of Wisconsin, Inc. However, the pump would not operate properly and plaintiff discovered that one of its cylinders appeared to be blocked by some hard[1191]*1191ened concrete left there the previous time that the pump was used.1 Plaintiff testified at his deposition that, prior to attempting to clear the blockage, he turned the engine key to the off position, observed that the pressure gauge read zero and then placed his right hand into one of the cylinders. According to Haas, as he walked around the pump, he noticed that the instrument panel was illuminated and turned the key to the off position, which caused the pump to cycle, shifting the swing arm, and crushing plaintiffs hand, which ultimately required surgical amputation.

Plaintiff thereafter commenced this action against defendant and others,2 seeking damages for his injuries based, as pertinent here, on negligence and strict products liability claims, both of which are premised on defective design and inadequate safety warnings. In its answer, defendant asserted, among other things, various affirmative defenses and, after discovery was completed, moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and all cross claims against it. Supreme Court granted defendant’s motion, finding that plaintiffs failure to adhere to the warnings provided with the pump was the sole cause of the accident. Plaintiff subsequently moved for leave to renew and/or reargue and Supreme Court denied that motion. Plaintiff now appeals from each order.

In order to recover in a strict products liability action, the plaintiff must prove that “the defendant manufactured for sale, or sold, distributed, leased, or otherwise marketed” a product, that “the product was defective,” that the plaintiff was injured and that “the defect was a substantial factor in causing the injury” (Kreindler, Rodriguez, Beekman and Cook, New York Law of Torts § 16:18 [15 West’s NY Prac Series 2011]). “Under strict liability law, ‘a product may be defective by reason of a manufacturing flaw, improper design or failure to warn’ ” [1192]*1192(Steuhl v Home Therapy Equip., Inc., 51 AD3d 1101, 1102 [2008], quoting Sukljian v Ross & Son Co., 69 NY2d 89, 94 [1986]). Here, plaintiff premises both his negligence and his strict liability claims on improper design and failure to warn, only. “[I]nasmuch as there is almost no difference between a prima facie case in negligence and one in strict liability” (Preston v Peter Luger Enters., Inc., 51 AD3d 1322, 1325 [2008]), we will address the negligence and strict liability claims together. Because our review of the record reveals the existence of triable issues of fact with regard to plaintiffs claims based upon defective design, we reverse in part.

Turning first to defendant’s alleged failure to provide adequate warnings, it is well settled that “manufacturers have a duty to warn against latent dangers due to intended uses and foreseeable unintended uses of their products” (Steuhl v Home Therapy Equip., Inc., 51 AD3d at 1103). Liability for failure to warn may be imposed “based upon either the complete failure to warn of a particular hazard or the inclusion of warnings that are insufficient” (DiMura v City of Albany, 239 AD2d 828, 829 [1997]). “Although the adequacy of a warning generally is a question of fact, in a proper case the court can decide as a matter of law that there is no duty to warn or that the duty has been discharged as a matter of law” (Schiller v National Presto Indus., 225 AD2d 1053, 1054 [1996] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted]; see generally Theoharis v Pengate Handling Sys. of N.Y., 300 AD2d 884, 884-885 [2002]).

Here, defendant established that it provided a number of safety instructions and warnings of the danger encountered by plaintiff, both on the pump itself and in the operation manual. For example, it is uncontroverted that the manual contains several prominent warnings about the danger of amputation if a person places his or her hand in the concrete cylinders or any part of his or her body in the hopper when the engine is running or when there is accumulated hydraulic pressure. In particular, the service instruction section of the manual contains an explicit warning that “[y]ou are at extreme risk if the engine is running or if pressure is in the hydraulic system” (emphasis added). The safety instructions further indicate that, before any maintenance or repairs are performed, the engine should be turned off, the starter key should be removed, a “[d]o not operate” tag should be placed over the switch and the battery cables should be disconnected. The employee handbook of plaintiff’s employer contains similar safety instructions. Defendant also submitted the affidavits of two experts, both of whom averred that plaintiffs accident was caused by a series of errors and a [1193]*1193general failure to follow such warnings and instructions. Thus, defendant met its initial burden of establishing a prima facie entitlement to dismissal of plaintiff’s failure to warn claims, shifting the burden to plaintiff to demonstrate a triable issue of fact (see Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 562 [1980]).

Although plaintiff admittedly read and was familiar with the applicable warnings and instructions and failed to follow them, he points to several warnings and instructions that he contends were contradictory and confusing.3 Additionally, he asserts that defendant should have specifically warned about the latent hazard — of which he was unaware — presented by the accumulation of hydraulic pressure that remains when the machine is turned off.

Notably, the purportedly contradictory warnings are in two different sections of the manual — one in the operating instruction section and one in the service instruction section — and are clearly applicable to two different situations. Moreover, as previously noted, the service portion of the manual explicitly warns of the risk of pressure remaining in the hydraulic system even if the engine is not running. In our view, this warning — combined with the other cautionary instructions provided by defendant with respect to attempting to service the concrete pump — was sufficient to meet defendant’s duty to warn as a matter of law. Accordingly, plaintiff has failed to raise a question of fact regarding defendant’s duty to warn sufficient to defeat defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

We reach a different conclusion with respect to plaintiff’s design defect claims.

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Bluebook (online)
96 A.D.3d 1190, 949 N.Y.S.2d 214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fisher-v-multiquip-inc-nyappdiv-2012.