Jones v. General Motors Corp.

911 P.2d 1243, 139 Or. App. 244, 1996 Ore. App. LEXIS 245
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedFebruary 21, 1996
Docket9304-02799; CA A84036
StatusPublished
Cited by54 cases

This text of 911 P.2d 1243 (Jones v. General Motors Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. General Motors Corp., 911 P.2d 1243, 139 Or. App. 244, 1996 Ore. App. LEXIS 245 (Or. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinions

[246]*246De MUNIZ, J.

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment entered after the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment. We reverse.

Plaintiff is a Portland police officer. Defendant General Motors manufactured a 1991 Chevrolet Caprice that defendant Wentworth Chevrolet sold to the City of Portland (the City) for use as a patrol car. After the City purchased the car in March 1991, City mechanics installed a radio and other electrical equipment in the car. When they installed the equipment, the mechanics drilled a 3/4-inch diameter hole in the bulkhead that separates the engine compartment from the interior of the car. They used that hole instead of factory installed pass-throughs to connect wires that were encased in a plastic sleeve. The patrol car was assigned to plaintiff after the mechanics installed the equipment.

Approximately one month after plaintiff was assigned the patrol car, he began to experience flu-like symptoms and saw a physician at an immediate care center. A private physician examined him a month later and a specialist also examined him. Two months after being assigned the patrol car, plaintiff noticed a musty odor in the car. A Went-worth mechanic examined the car and indicated that the musty smell originated from “water leaking thru fire wall where a non-chev loom goes thru firewall.” Plaintiff’s symptoms subsided when he was away from the car.

Two City mechanics, Denkers and Schenfeld, subsequently examined the car on separate occasions. When Denkers first examined the car, it smelled slightly of windshield washer fluid, but he could not detect the source of the odor. Later, the car was returned for a second examination and it smelled strongly of windshield washer fluid. Denkers also noticed that the floor mat on the driver’s side was soaked through. Denkers testified that water had entered the car through the holes drilled for the radio wires. When he sprayed water on the windshield, he observed water flowing over the bulkhead, down the wires and into the passenger [247]*247compartment.1 He also observed a white, filmy substance growing under the floor mat on the driver’s side.

When the car was brought in the second time, Schenfeld also examined it. He took the car to the wash rack, ran water down the windshield and watched it leak into the car through an eight-inch gap in the sealant between the front of the car and the bulkhead separating the engine compartment from the passenger compartment. He knew about the hole drilled for the radio wires, but said it was not the source of the water in the passenger compartment. He removed the floor mats, jute backing and rubberized asbestos sound panels from the floor and discovered a white substance growing on them. He believed that the white substance caused the odor in the car.

A City mechanic sealed the hole in the patrol car’s bulkhead with silicone. There were no further reports of moisture in the patrol car. Denkers testified that, because of moisture intrusion problems in other 1991 Chevrolet Caprices belonging to the City, mechanics now install a rubber grommet sealed with silicone over the radio wire holes as a regular practice. Plaintiff’s symptoms have recurred on two occasions when he has been exposed to musty or moldy smells. His physician informed him that he has a permanent condition.

Plaintiff filed this lawsuit against defendants, alleging claims based on negligence and strict product liability. In his amended complaint, he asserted that defendants were negligent:

“(a) In distributing a vehicle with a partially non-existent seal between the cowling and bulkhead below the windshield area which allowed moisture to enter the vehicle;
“(b) In distributing a vehicle which had no adequate sealing in the junction of the cowling and bulkhead below the vehicle’s windshield to prevent the leakage of moisture into the vehicle; and
[248]*248“(c) In failing to adequately inspect the vehicle to reveal the defect in the cowling/bulkhead.”

He also alleged that one or more of those unreasonably dangerous defective conditions caused him physical and mental pain and suffering, including various respiratory ailments.

Before the 1995 legislative session our review of a summary judgment was to determine whether there was a genuine issue as to any material fact and whether the moving party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law, viewing the evidence and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. ORCP 47 C; Hampton Tree Farms, Inc. v. Jewett, 320 Or 599, 613, 892 P2d 683 (1995). The moving party had the burden of showing that there were no genuine issues of material fact and that he or she was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Moustachetti v. State of Oregon, 319 Or 319, 321, 877 P2d 66 (1994). The 1995 legislature enacted Senate Bill 385, part of which amended ORCP 47 C by adding the underlined language:

“The motion and all supporting documents shall be served and filed at least 45 days before the date set for trial. The adverse party shall have 20 days in which to serve and file opposing affidavits and supporting documents. The moving party shall have five days to reply. The court shall have discretion to modify these stated times. The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, 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. No genuine issue as to a material fact exists if, based upon the record before the court viewed in a manner most favorable to the adverse party, no objectively reasonable juror could return a verdict for the adverse party on the matter that is the subject of the motion for summary judgment. A summary judgment, interlocutory in character, may be rendered on the issue of liability alone although there is a genuine issue as to the amount of damages.” 1995 Or Laws, ch 618, § 5.

The legislature further provided:

“The amendments to ORCP 17, 47 C and 54 * * * apply to all actions, whether commenced before, on or after the [249]*249effective date [September 9, 1995] of this Act.” 1995 Or Laws, ch 618, § 140 (2).2

The threshold issue here, thus, is whether the amendment to ORCP 47 C applies to an appeal from a summary judgment that was granted on the preamendment standard. We conclude that it does. The text of Section 140 is clear that the amendment applies to all actions “whether commenced before, on or after the effective date of [the] Act.” Furthermore, reversing a summary judgment by applying the preamendment standard would only result in a remand to the trial court where the losing party could file a new motion for summary judgment to be determined under the 1995 amendment. Accordingly, a decision that a summary judgment did not meet the preamendment standard of review would have no practical effect.

In interpreting the amendment, we first consider the text and context of the statutory provision in order to discern the intent of the legislature. PGE v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, 317 Or 606, 610, 859 P2d 1143 (1993).

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Bluebook (online)
911 P.2d 1243, 139 Or. App. 244, 1996 Ore. App. LEXIS 245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-general-motors-corp-orctapp-1996.