Hakim v. Safariland LLC

District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided November 8, 2021·No. 1:15-cv-06487·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION DAVID HAKIM, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) Case No. 1:15-cv-06487 v. ) ) SAFARILAND, LLC and DEFENSE ) Honorable Thomas M. Durkin TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION OF ) AMERICA, ) ) Defendants. )

DEFENDANTS’ POST-TRIAL MOTION NOW COME defendants, SAFARILAND, LLC and DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION OF AMERICA, by their attorneys PAUL V. ESPOSITO and CLAUSEN MILLER PC, and move this Honorable Court pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(b) and 59(a) to grant defendants: (a) judgment as a matter of law on all claims, or in the alternative, (b) a new trial on all issues of liability and damages as to the failure-to-warn claim, or (c) a remittitur of the verdict from $7.5 million to $1.0 million, and if plaintiff refuses to accept it, a new trial on the failure-to- warn claim. In support, defendants state: I. Motion for judgment as a matter of law [Rule 50(b)] Defendants incorporate here the arguments raised in their briefing on their jmol motion at the end of plaintiff’s case (Dkt 205 and 239). Defendants’ case also supports jmol. Because defendants sold breaching rounds to the sheriff’s office (DCSO), not the SWAT officers, DCSO needed to warn officers of potential dangers. Zahumensky v. Chicago White Sox, Ltd., 2019 IL App (1st) 177878, ¶56, 125 N.E.2d 1157, ¶56. Defendants had “neither the means of controlling [DCSO’s] subsequent actions nor the opportunity to provide warnings directly to [plaintiff and the SWAT team].” Id. In determining the adequacy of defendants’ warnings, this Court should consider DCSO’s institutional knowledge about the breaching rounds. Warnings are unnecessary when a party has the necessary knowledge. Proctor v. Davis, 291 Ill. App. 3d 265, 277, 682 N.E.2d 1203, 1211 (1st Dist. 1997). Defendants’ evidence established DCSO’s extensive knowledge of the rounds— knowledge it passed to SWAT officers including plaintiff.

By 2008 at the latest, DCSO knew about the potential dangers of the TKO breaching round. In September 2008, DCSO provided an eight-hour training course on shotgun breaching (Dkt 224: Def. Ex. 31D, p.2-3). Attendees included plaintiff and fellow SWAT members Harris, Groh, O’Neil, Crane, and Bata, all of whom testified at trial (Id. at p.5). SWAT member Van de Voorde also attended (Id.). O’Neil and Bata co-instructed (Id. at p.1). The 2008 shotgun breaching training included: (1) classroom instruction on shotguns and breaching rounds, (2) a study of angles in breaching wood doors, (3) dry fire, and (4) live fire (Id. at p.2). The lesson plan contained warnings about the proper use of defendants’ TKO round (Dkt 224: Def. Ex. 31D at Ex. Q, p.7). It stated that students would learn to identify “the single most

critical issue” involved in preventing injuries (Id. at Ex. Q, p.4, ¶3). It warned that the round is “[c]apable of causing death or serious injury, when used in a manner that does not preclude the possibility of primary or secondary missiles entering the target location” (Id. at Ex. Q, p.6). The lesson plan discussed deployment. It identified proper targets as “deadbolts, ‘throws,’ locking mechanisms, hinges, etc.”—all metal (Id. at Ex. Q, p.7). To accomplish its task, the round must deliver “a significant amount of energy” (Id.). The plan specifically warned SWAT members about the type of doors a round can penetrate: [T]he inherent energy and make-up of a projectile capable of overcoming such solid/metallic targets, will penetrate any wooden door (hollow or solid, residential or industrial), and certain varieties of metal doors (Id. at Ex. Q, p.7-8) (emphasis in original). It had to be that way. If a round disintegrated upon contact with wood, the round could never disrupt a metal object preventing entry. That means it would fail to meet ordinary consumer expectations that it could safely breach a door. The lesson plan emphasized safety in deploying the round: This penetration [of doors] can have LETHAL CONSEQUENCES, if a round is not delivered at an angle that prevents primary and secondary missiles from entering the room. Controlling the angle of presentation is the single most important aspect of safe and effective deployment (Ex. 31D at Ex. Q, p.8; emphasis in original). It instructed breachers to dig the teeth of a muzzle into the wood at the deployment location (Id.). In determining the proper shooting angle, the lesson plan states: “A standard rule of thumb is a ‘45-45 degree’ angle. Both angles are CRITICAL to the safe and effective use of this product” (at Ex. Q, p.9; emphasis in original). The angle is so critical that even if a team must modify a breaching operation at an active scene, “[i]n no case shall it involve any deviation from the ‘45- 45’angular engagement of the barrier itself” (Id.; emphasis supplied). The lesson plan required trainees to demonstrate shooting proficiency and pass a written test (Id. at Ex. Q, p.9-14). A test question asks about the probability of a round’s passing through an ordinary wooden door (Id. at Ex. Q, p.11). Defense expert Ken Hubbs told the jury the correct answer: “certain” (Dkt 236 at 1567). No one disputed it. The lesson plan established two important facts. First, well before the accident, DCSO had institutional knowledge about the capabilities of the round. If DCSO failed to transmit it to SWAT members, whether at the 2008 training session or later, it was not defendants’ fault. Any failure to warn plaintiff and Alaniz would add to the proof that DCSO and its SWAT team were the 100% cause of the accident. The second fact is equally important: plaintiff attended the 2008 training session. Most likely, he heard about the round’s ability to penetrate wooden doors and injure persons in the line of fire. Presumably, he remembered what he heard. Whether he was inattentive or forgetful is irrelevant; he had the opportunity to learn the critical information. The consumer-expectation test focuses on the understanding of the person harmed by an allegedly defective product.

Mikolajczyk v. Ford Motor Co., 231 Ill. 2d 516, 530-31, 901 N.E.2d 329, 338 (2008). As a trained SWAT officer, plaintiff would have known that he needed to be out of the line of fire of a missed shot. In short, no reasonable jury may conclude the defendants breached a duty to warn. Defendants’ case-in-chief also provided more evidence as to 100% proximate cause. Defendants introduced the deposition testimony of Patrick O’Neil, the breaching instructor on the day of the accident (Dkt 234 at 1186-1260). As did plaintiff’s witness Abruzzo, O’Neil testified to the progressive training “[t]o make sure everybody is doing it right” (Id. at 1190-92). SWAT member Mark Asmussen asked O’Neil to “put on some breaching at the end of

training” (Dkt 234 at 1202). O’Neil told him he would only conduct a demonstration (Id. at 1203). The training notice to the SWAT team did not mention the nature of the training (Id. at 1204-05). O’Neil designed the shotgun segment to provide an “overview” of shotgun breaching, not to provide certifications or authorizations to shoot the weapon (Id. at 1206; Dkt 224: Def. Ex. EE at p.8). His plan did not include live breaching or breaching procedures (Id. at 1207, 1209; Dkt 224: Def. Ex. EE at p.8). Normal training takes a day, with shooting done on a flat range for safety (Id. at 1214). Shooting inside a home would be appropriate only after everyone was trained (Id. at 1214-15). O’Neil was unaware whether anyone appointed a safety officer or conducted a safety inspection (Id. at 1215-18). During his case-in-chief, plaintiff offered no evidence that either happened. The planned shotgun session lasted 30-60 minutes (Dkt 234 at 1219-20).

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