Hiner v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.

978 P.2d 505
Washington Supreme Court·Decided June 17, 1999·No. 67234-2·Published·Cited by 34 cases

Opinion

978 P.2d 505 (1999)
138 Wash.2d 248

Julia K. HINER, an Individual, Respondent,
v.
BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE, INC., a Corporation, Petitioner.

No. 67234-2.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued May 11, 1999.
Decided June 17, 1999.

*506 Keating, Bucklin & McCormack, Stewart A. Estes, Seattle, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Washington Defense Trial Lawyers.

Randall & Danskin, Michael J. Myers, Michael Wolfe, Spokane, for Petitioner.

Michael De Grasse, Walla Walla, for Respondent.

SMITH, J.

Petitioner Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., a corporation, seeks discretionary review of a decision of the Court of Appeals, Division III, *507 reversing judgment as a matter of law by the Walla Walla County Superior Court on Respondent Julia K. Hiner's product liability claim and affirming dismissal of Petitioner's affirmative defense of entity liability. The Court of Appeals concluded that Respondent had provided sufficient evidence to support her claim against Petitioner under the Washington Product Liability Act and that the affirmative defense of entity liability in a product liability claim does not apply to other than manufacturers and product sellers. We granted review. We reverse.

QUESTIONS PRESENTED

The questions presented in this case are (1) whether under Court Rule (CR) 50(a) Respondent presented sufficient evidence to support a claim under the Product Liability Act, RCW ch. 7.72, against Petitioner, the manufacturer of snow tires; and (2) whether under the Product Liability Act the affirmative defense of entity liability applies to other than manufacturers and product sellers.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

On June 19, 1995, Respondent Julia K. Hiner filed a complaint in the Walla Walla County Superior Court against Petitioner Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. under the Washington Product Liability Act (PLA), RCW ch. 7.72, for not providing warnings on its snow tires that mounting studded snow tires only on the front wheels of a front-wheel drive vehicle was unsafe.[1] Respondent claimed damages for personal injuries she sustained in an accident on January 18, 1993 as she drove her automobile from Walla Walla to Spokane on State Route 127.[2] She claimed that prior to the accident she was unaware of the danger of having studded snow tires only on the front wheels of a front-wheel drive vehicle[3] and that the specific tire configuration caused her to lose control of her 1988 Hyundai Excel[4] (a front-wheel drive vehicle) on the wet road and collide with the trailer of an on-coming grain truck.[5] Respondent suffered serious injuries which included a punctured lung, a broken arm and leg, multiple facial wounds, and an ankle joint replacement.[6] She claimed her injuries seriously affected her careers as a nurse and as a fashion model.[7]

In late 1990 or early 1991, Respondent's father gave her a set of two studded snow tires he had stored in his garage.[8] The record does not indicate how he acquired them, when he acquired them or whether he had used them. The tires were manufactured in 1985 by Petitioner Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.[9] Respondent first used the tires on her Hyundai automobile without incident in late 1990 or early 1991.[10] On January 4, 1993 she had the tires installed on the front wheels of her automobile by Louis J. Preso, a service station operator.[11] The tires on the rear wheels, Goodyear Corsica radial tires,[12] were original equipment and remained on the automobile.[13] The accident occurred on January 18, 1993 following installation of the snow tires.

In its answer to Respondent's complaint, Petitioner raised the affirmative defense of entity liability[14] which allows the trier of fact to apportion liability among any other *508 parties proven to be reckless, negligent or otherwise at "fault" for plaintiff's damages.[15]

On November 6, 1995, Respondent filed a motion to amend her complaint to include a claim under the Washington Consumer Protection Act (CPA), RCW ch. 19.86, and a claim for punitive damages under Ohio law.[16] The motion was granted by the trial court, the Honorable Donald W. Schacht, on December 4, 1995.[17]

On October 3, 1996, the trial court issued an order on summary judgment which, among other things, granted Respondent's motion to strike Petitioner's affirmative defense which claimed proportionate liability of other entities.[18] In a letter ruling on October 3, 1996, the trial court granted Petitioner's motion to dismiss Respondent's claim under the CPA and for punitive damages.[19] The case then proceeded to trial before a jury in the Walla Walla County Superior Court on October 15-18, 1996 before Judge Donald W. Schacht.

At the conclusion of Respondent's case-in-chief, Petitioner made a motion to dismiss for failure to present a prima facie case.[20] The trial court granted the motion[21] and entered an order granting judgment as a matter of law for Petitioner under Civil Rule (CR) 50(a).[22] Judgment was entered on November 13, 1996.[23]

On December 10, 1996, Respondent sought direct review by this Court.[24] Petitioner cross-appealed the trial court's order dismissing its affirmative defense of entity liability.[25] The matter was transferred to the Court of Appeals, Division III.[26]

The Court of Appeals, Division III, the Honorable John A. Schultheis writing, reversed the order granting judgment as a matter of law for Petitioner and reinstated Respondent's claim under the PLA.[27] It affirmed both the order dismissing Petitioner's affirmative defense of entity liability[28] and dismissal of Respondent's claim under the CPA.[29]

Petitioner filed a petition with this Court seeking review of the decision of the Court of Appeals which reinstated the product liability claim and affirmed dismissal of Petitioner's entity liability defense. This Court granted review on March 2, 1999.

DISCUSSION

PRODUCT LIABILITY CLAIM

Petitioner Bridgestone/Firestone contends the Court of Appeals erred in reinstating Respondent's product liability claim which the trial court dismissed as a matter of law under CR 50(a)(1) at the close of Respondent's case-in-chief. CR 50(a)(1) states:

Judgment as a Matter of Law.

(1) Nature and Effect of Motion. If, during a trial by jury, a party has been fully heard with respect to an issue and there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find or have found for that party with respect to that *509 issue, the court may grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law against the party on any claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third party claim that cannot under the controlling law be maintained without a favorable finding on that issue....

"Granting a motion for judgment as a matter of law is appropriate when, viewing the evidence most favorable to the nonmoving party, the court can say, as a matter of law, there is no substantial evidence or reasonable inference to sustain a verdict for the nonmoving party."[30] The substantial evidence must be such that it would convince "an unprejudiced, thinking mind."[31]

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Hiner v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 978 P.2d 505 (Wash. 1999).

978 P.2d 505 (Hiner v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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