Kohler Co. v. Marcotte

907 So. 2d 596, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 11047, 2005 WL 1678471
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJuly 20, 2005
Docket3D04-296
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 907 So. 2d 596 (Kohler Co. v. Marcotte) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kohler Co. v. Marcotte, 907 So. 2d 596, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 11047, 2005 WL 1678471 (Fla. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

907 So.2d 596 (2005)

KOHLER CO., Appellant,
v.
Timothy R. MARCOTTE, et al., Appellees.

No. 3D04-296.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

July 20, 2005.

*597 Hicks & Kneale and Mark Hicks, Miami; and Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, for appellant.

Joel S. Perwin; Billbrough & Marks, Miami; and Brett A. Weinberg, for appellees.

Before WELLS and ROTHENBERG, JJ., and SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge.

ROTHENBERG, Judge.

The defendant, Kohler Co., appeals a final judgment following a jury trial in favor of the plaintiffs, Timothy R. Marcotte and Cindy L. Marcotte, Individually and as Legal Guardians of Timothy N. Marcotte, a minor. We reverse.

In January 1998, Timothy N. Marcotte ("child"), who was seven years old at the time, was permanently injured when his left dominant hand came in contact with the rotating plastic air intake screen on the "Magnum 20" engine of a riding lawn mower called the Dixie Chopper X2000[1] ("lawn mower"). The rotating screen was not covered by any sort of protective guard.

The plaintiffs brought suit against various defendants including Magic Circle Corporation, the manufacturer of the lawn mower; Power Mower Sales, Inc., the retail dealer that sold the lawn mower; and Kohler, the manufacturer of the "Magnum 20" engine. The claims against Kohler were for strict liability, failure to warn, and negligence. Kohler filed a counterclaim against the child's mother for negligent operation of the lawn mower and negligent failure to supervise the child. All defendants, except Kohler, settled with the plaintiffs.

The evidence at trial established that Kohler is a component manufacturer. As *598 a component manufacturer, Kohler designs and manufactures small engines, such as the "Magnum 20", and then sells these engines to an original equipment manufacturer ("OEM"), such as Magic Circle. The OEM incorporates the engine into its final product designed and assembled by OEM.[2] The "Magnum 20" engines are incorporated into a wide variety of products including pressure washers, go carts, generators, and lawn mowers. While Kohler engaged in an application review, its review was limited to whether the "Magnum 20" engine had sufficient horsepower and heat exchange to adequately run the lawn mower. Kohler did not review the design of the lawn mower for safety. Prior to the manufacturing of the lawn mower, Magic Circle knew that a grass shield was available which fits over the entire engine blower housing, including the plastic air intake screen.[3] Magic Circle unilaterally decided not to install the guard because it believed that it was not needed. As Magic Circle's president testified, a fixed guard was not installed because the rotating air intake screen was adequately guarded as a result of its design of the lawn mower. Specifically, Magic Circle believed that the oil coolers or radiators that were above the plastic air intake screen adequately acted as a barrier.

The jury returned a verdict finding that: Kohler had placed a defective engine on the market; Kohler was negligent; the mother was not negligent; Magic Circle was 25% liable; Kohler was 75% liable; the child's damages for past and future medical expenses were $100,000; the child's damages for future lost earning ability were $500,000; and the child's damages for pain and suffering were $2,000,000.

Kohler's post-trial motion for directed verdict, motion for new trial, and alternative motion for remittitur were denied. This appeal followed.

Kohler contends that the trial court erred in failing to grant its motion for directed verdict. We agree.

As provided in the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability § 5 (1997), which is titled "Liability of Commercial Seller or Distributor of Product Components for Harm Caused by Products Into Which Components Are Integrated," the manufacturer/seller of a component part may be held liable, but only under limited circumstances:

One engaged in the business of selling or otherwise distributing product components who sells or distributes a component is subject to liability for harm to persons or property caused by a product into which the component is integrated if:
(a) the component is defective in itself, as defined in this Chapter, and the defect causes the harm; or
*599 (b)(1) the seller or distributor of the component substantially participates in the integration of the component into the design of the product; and
(2) the integration of the component causes the product to be defective, as defined in this Chapter; and
(3) the defect in the product causes the harm.

Comment a. to § 5 provides:

As a general rule, component sellers should not be liable when the component itself is not defective as defined in this Chapter. If the component is not itself defective, it would be unjust and inefficient to impose liability solely on the ground that the manufacturer of the integrated product utilizes the component in a manner that renders the integrated product defective. Imposing liability would require the component seller to scrutinize another's product which the component seller has no role in developing. This would require the component seller to develop sufficient sophistication to review the decisions of the business entity that is already charged with responsibility for the integrated product.

Therefore, components sellers are subject "to liability when the components themselves are defective or when component providers substantially participate in the integration of components into the design of the other products." Id. at § 5 cmt. a.

Here, the evidence clearly demonstrates that Kohler did not participate in the integration of its engine into the lawn mower. Magic Circle designed the lawn mower without any input or assistance from Kohler, and Kohler did not assist Magic Circle in installing the engine into its lawn mower. Kohler engaged in an application review, but its review was limited to whether the "Magnum 20" engine had sufficient horsepower and heat exchange to adequately run the lawn mower. Kohler did not review and was not asked to review the design of the lawn mower for safety. Further, Magic Circle, not Kohler, unilaterally decided to not install a guard, such as the grass shield, because Magic Circle believed that its design of the lawn mower, which included the placement of the radiators (oil coolers) directly above the air intake screen, sufficiently guarded the air intake screen. Therefore, because Kohler did not participate in the integration of the engine into the lawn mower, Kohler, as a component manufacturer, cannot be held strictly liable for the injuries sustained by the child unless the "Magnum 20" engine is "defective in itself."

Section 2 of the Restatement of Torts provides:

A product is defective when, at the time of sale or distribution, it contains a manufacturing defect, is defective in design, or is defective because of inadequate instructions or warnings. A product:
(a) contains a manufacturing defect when the product departs from its intended design even though all possible care was exercised in the preparation and marketing of the product;

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Bluebook (online)
907 So. 2d 596, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 11047, 2005 WL 1678471, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kohler-co-v-marcotte-fladistctapp-2005.