Maguire v. Pabst Brewing Co.

387 N.W.2d 565, 1986 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 1168
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedMay 21, 1986
Docket85-858
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 387 N.W.2d 565 (Maguire v. Pabst Brewing Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maguire v. Pabst Brewing Co., 387 N.W.2d 565, 1986 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 1168 (iowa 1986).

Opinion

CARTER, Justice.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa has certified six questions of law to be answered by this court as provided in Iowa Code sections 684A.1, .3 (1985) and Iowa Rules of Appellate Procedure 451-61. These questions involve the application of Iowa law to six variform theories of liability proposed by the plaintiffs in a diversity action pending in that court.

The complaint charges that plaintiff James L. Maguire was seriously injured when a motor vehicle in which he was riding was struck by another motor vehicle driven by Vikki Paulson. James Maguire seeks to recover damages for those injuries. His wife, plaintiff Linda Maguire, seeks to recover for loss of society, companionship and support. It is alleged in the complaint that Paulson was intoxicated at the time of the collision as a result of having consumed an excessive amount of beer brewed and distributed by the defendant Pabst Brewing Company (Pabst).

The complaint, as amended, seeks to hold Pabst liable on the following theories, each of which will be discussed more fully at a later point in our opinion: (1) liability for abnormally dangerous activities as discussed in Lubin v. City of Iowa City, 257 Iowa 383, 131 N.W.2d 765 (1964) and Restatement (Second) of Torts §§ 519, 520 (1965); (2) liability for supplying through a third person a product which was unlikely to be made safe before being put to the use intended or expected as discussed in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 389; (3) liability for supplying a product to further defendant’s business purpose when it knew or had reason to know that the product was likely to be dangerous for the use for which it was supplied as discussed in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 391; (4) liability for failing to exercise reasonable care to make its product safe for the use for which it was supplied or to inform users of its dangerous condition as discussed in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 392; (5) liability of a manufacturer for the acts of a third person supplying a product dangerous for use as discussed in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 394; and (6) liability for supplying a defective product, unreasonably dangerous to the user, as discussed in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A.

Pabst filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that, based on the allegations of the complaint and the undisputed facts which have been developed through discovery, plaintiffs may not recover under Iowa law on any of the theories which they have advanced. This motion for summary judgment has been submitted to the federal *567 court but decision thereon has been held in abeyance pending our disposition of the certified questions of law.

Accompanying the six certified questions of law is a statement of certified facts. Many of these facts go beyond the bare allegations of the complaint. All but one of the six certified questions are framed in terms of whether the allegations of the complaint state a claim or cognizable cause of action under Iowa law.

In an explanatory footnote to its certification order, the federal court expressly recognizes that the issues certified involve the sufficiency of the allegations of the complaint and suggests that the additional facts gleaned from discovery depositions are included to aid us in applying the federal standard for determining such sufficiency. 1 This standard is stated to be whether plaintiffs can prove any set of facts in support of their claim that would entitle them to relief. We find the additional certified facts to be illuminating and helpful with respect to our determination of the legal questions which have been presented and consistent with section 684A.3 which provides that the purpose of certified facts is to show “the nature of the controversy in which the questions arose.” We therefore set forth the material portion of the certified facts before stating and answering the questions of law which have been presented.

The afternoon before the accident in which James L. Maguire was injured Vikki Paulson drank approximately four glasses of beer in a tavern located in Fort Dodge. She consumed this beer in approximately one and one-half hours. The beer was not a Pabst product. After leaving this tavern, Vikki Paulson went home and ate her evening meal. She then went to another Fort Dodge tavern arriving at approximately 7 p.m. There she participated in a pool tournament sponsored by that establishment. Between approximately 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. the following morning, she drank an undisclosed number of glasses of Pabst draft beer.

The accident in which James L. Maguire was injured occurred shortly following the time that Vikki Paulson left the tavern where the pool tournament was held. She was intoxicated at this time and continued to be intoxicated at the time of the accident. Prior to the date on which Maguire was injured, Vikki Paulson had drunk beer on a social basis for approximately twelve years. She regularly drank beer at least once a week during that period of time. She considered herself a social drinker, although she had been intoxicated on more than one occasion prior to the date of the accident. She was aware that if she consumed too much beer her reactions and vision would be adversely affected, and her capabilities for driving a motor vehicle would be lessened.

Following the accident in which James Maguire was injured, Vikki Paulson was charged with and pled guilty to (1) failure to stop at a stop sign; (2) operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol; and (3) involuntary manslaughter in the death of another person riding in the same vehicle as Maguire. She pleaded guilty to each of these charges.

During a period of time relevant to the present action, Pabst has caused a series of commercials to be shown on television in the Fort Dodge viewing area which promote the sale of the beer products brewed and distributed by it. These advertisements depict young people, both male and female, most of whom appear to be in their twenties. The bartenders are represented in these commercials by older actors. The characters in the commercials appear to be predominantly blue collar but some white collar types appear as welcome guests in a friendly, festive “slice-of-life” drama.

These characters wear working clothes for the most part and talk like “regular guys.” They are gregarious, fun-loving people who express an appreciation for *568 good friends and “real beer.” The setting is always a tavern which is crowded in a way that suggests popularity. The patrons are always in highly festive mood, and the bartender gives a strong recommendation to Pabst beer. The contents of oversized pitchers of frosty amber liquid representing Pabst draft beer is freely dispensed among the glasses of the assembled patrons. At the conclusion of some of the commercials, one character says to another: “Let’s have another.” In 1982, Pabst spent $25,023,000 in advertising its beer, and in 1983 spent $28,783,000.

We separately consider each of the six certified questions of law which the federal court has propounded. Because of the interrelationship which exists between certain questions, we depart somewhat from the sequence in which these questions are presented in the order of certification.

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Bluebook (online)
387 N.W.2d 565, 1986 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 1168, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maguire-v-pabst-brewing-co-iowa-1986.