Ford Motor Co. v. Ledesma

173 S.W.3d 78, 2005 WL 1033916
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 9, 2005
Docket03-03-00634-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 173 S.W.3d 78 (Ford Motor Co. v. Ledesma) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ford Motor Co. v. Ledesma, 173 S.W.3d 78, 2005 WL 1033916 (Tex. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinions

OPINION

W. KENNETH LAW, Chief Justice.

Tiburcio Ledesma, Jr. sued Ford Motor Company for damages in connection with a collision between Ledesma’s truck and two parked cars. The critical factual dispute at trial was whether the truck’s axle dislodged and caused the truck to hit the parked cars, or whether the axle dislodged as a result of the collisions. Finding that a manufacturing defect was a producing cause of the accident, and that Ledesma’s negligence was not a proximate cause, the jury awarded Ledesma $215,380 in damages for the cost of repairs to his truck, the loss of use of the truck, profits lost from the period the truck was out of service for his business, and damage to his [81]*81credit reputation.1 The trial court also awarded prejudgment interest.

Ford raises procedural and substantive complaints. It argues that the court erred by allowing Ledesma’s experts to testify because their opinions were not reliable, and by excluding some testimony by Ford’s expert on the basis that he was not a qualified accident reconstructionist. Ford also argues that the court submitted incorrect definitions of manufacturing defect and producing cause to the jury. Ford also contends that legally insufficient evidence supports the jury’s finding that Ledesma’s truck contained a manufacturing defect that was a producing cause of this accident.

We will affirm the judgment.

BACKGROUND

Ledesma bought a new 1999 Ford F-350 pickup truck in March 1999 for use in his construction business. The truck had dual rear tires housed in wheel wells that protruded from the sides of the truck. In June 1999, the truck had about 4,100 miles on it, had not been in any collisions, and had no mechanical problems. On June 5, 1999 at approximately 5 p.m., Ledesma had an accident while driving the truck on a dry, two-lane street on which several cars were parallel parked. At some point during the accident sequence, the truck’s rear leaf-spring and axle assembly came apart and the driveshaft disengaged from the transmission. The truck collided with at least two of the parked cars. The parties presented different accounts of the accident and different theories of causation. The jury resolved this dispute in Ledesma’s favor.

Ledesma’s version

Ledesma’s theory of the accident is that the rear axle displaced and the driveshaft disengaged and “pronged” into the street, causing him to lose control of his truck and crash into the parked cars.

Ledesma testified that he was driving the truck at a little more than thirty miles per hour. He felt a jolt while shifting into third gear. The truck slid to the right and its back end went into the air. Ledesma said he then turned the steering wheel to the left to avoid a Pontiac Firebird parked along the curb. The right back end of his truck struck the left back end of the Fire-bird. Ledesma said he was unable to control the truck because the rear end kept “bouncing.” The truck then hit a second parked car before coming to rest with its right rear tire up on the curb. Ledesma denied that the truck stopped on anyone’s lawn.

Geert Aerts, a mechanical engineer, testified about two possible causes of the accident. Both theories arose from a manufacturing asymmetry involving the u-bolt that clamps the axle in suspension below the leaf-spring assembly. This schematic of the assemblies was an exhibit at trial:

[82]*82[[Image here]]

Aerts testified that, during the manufacturing process, one of the legs on the u-bolt was made longer than the other leg. Aerts theorized that the unequal lengths of the legs on the u-bolt prevented the nuts from being adequately tightened. As a result, the u-bolt did not adequately clamp the axle housing. Aerts’s second theory was that the flattened portion of the u-bolt was off center. As a result, the round portion of the bolt could cause an indentation in the axle housing and eventually cause the axle housing to become loose. Under both theories, the loose axle housing shifted back and allowed the driveshaft to disengage and fall onto the street.

David Hall, an accident reconstructionist, testified based on photographs taken of the accident scene. Hall said that there were marks present in the street that were caused by the driveshaft striking the pavement. On the truck’s path, these marks were before the collision with the first parked car, the Firebird. Hall also testified that the impact between the truck and the Firebird occurred at a very low speed. Ford’s version

Ford’s theory is that Ledesma was driving inattentively and hit the parked cars with the truck’s protruding wheels, sending the truck out of control, careening into cars and over a curb onto a lawn. Ford contends that the impact with the curb caused the axle to shift back and the drive-shaft to disengage.

Edward Pylant, the owner of the Fire-bird that was hit, testified by deposition that he witnessed the accident.2 Pylant said that Ledesma was speeding at between 40 and 50 mph. Pylant testified that Ledesma was not paying attention and drove very close to the cars parked along the curb. As the truck passed the Firebird, the right wheel tub, the rear axle, and the outside right rear tire of the truck hit the Firebird. Pylant claims the impact caused the truck’s back end to [83]*83come off the ground and bounce away from the Firebird. The truck then hit a Honda Civic. The truck’s wheels hit the curb, went over the curb, and separated from the truck.

Based on Ledesma’s pretrial motion, the court excluded some testimony from Dan May, Ford’s expert witness. May is a mechanical engineer with thirty-one years of experience at Ford, including twenty-five years as a truck engineer. For seven years, May worked as a product design engineer and was involved in the manufacture and assembly of components. The trial court allowed May to testify about matters relating to design and manufacture but prevented him from testifying on matters relating to accident reconstruction because he was not an accident reconstruc-tionist. During trial, the court said it would let Ford question May about the cause of the accident but would then admit the report of Ralph Stern, Ford’s original accident reconstruction expert. In his report, Stern opined that the rear spring rear spring bolt broke, causing the rear wheels to slip far enough to pull the drive shaft out of the transmission. Ford elected not to have May testify about the cause of the accident.

The jury verdict

The trial court returned a verdict in favor of Ledesma. The jury concluded that a manufacturing defect was the cause of the accident and that Ledesma was not negligent. The jury awarded Ledesma $215,380 as damages for the repair of the truck, loss of the use of the truck, Ledes-ma’s lost profits, and damage to Ledesma’s credit reputation. In addition, the trial court awarded Ledesma $65,912 in prejudgment interest.

DISCUSSION

Ford raises four issues on appeal that relate to Ledesma’s failure to carry the burden of proof that should be imposed upon a plaintiff alleging a manufacturing defect. In Ford Motor Co. v. Ridgway, the Texas Supreme Court described the plaintiff’s burden as follows:

A manufacturing defect exists when a product deviates, in its construction or quality, from the specifications or planned output in a manner that renders it unreasonably dangerous. Torrington Co. v.

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173 S.W.3d 78, 2005 WL 1033916, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ford-motor-co-v-ledesma-texapp-2005.