Mariscal v. Graco, Inc.

52 F. Supp. 3d 973, 2014 WL 2919520, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88045
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJune 26, 2014
DocketCase No. 13-cv-02548-TEH
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 52 F. Supp. 3d 973 (Mariscal v. Graco, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mariscal v. Graco, Inc., 52 F. Supp. 3d 973, 2014 WL 2919520, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88045 (N.D. Cal. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

THELTON E. HENDERSON, United States District Judge

This matter came before the Court on June 16, 2014, on the motion of. Defendant Graco, Inc. (“Defendant”) for summary judgment. After carefully considering the written and oral arguments of the parties, and the relevant law, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Defendant’s motion for the reasons discussed below.

BACKGROUND

In this product liability case, Plaintiff Joshua Mariscal (“Plaintiff’) alleges that he was injured on July 29, 2012, while attempting to clean and repair a used, Graco Magnum X7 Airless Paint Sprayer [978]*978(the “Sprayer”), which he had been given by his brother-in-law. See Mariscal Dep. (“Tr.”) 22:6-10; 26:5-8, Docket No. 41-2. The Sprayer was manufactured by Defendant in July 2008. See Rivord Deck ¶ 9, Docket No. 41-10. The used Sprayer was “tattered,” and the filter on the bottom was full of dried paint. See Tr. 26:5-8. On July 28, 2012, Plaintiff turned on the Sprayer, heard the motor labor, and concluded that the Sprayer was clogged because it appeared to draw water but nothing came out of the spray gun. See id. at 32:15-24. Plaintiff purchased a new filter and installed it on the Sprayer on the morning of July 29, 2012. See id. at 38:19— 23. Plaintiff also cleaned the two intake hoses, the hose that connects the Sprayer to the gun, and cleaned the gun itself. See id. at 48: 2-9. While cleaning the hose, he used compressed air and wore eye glasses. See id. at 50:19-51:24. Plaintiff then connected the Sprayer to a bucket of water, activated the Sprayer, turned up the pressure, and attempted to spray, but the gun did not spray. See id. at 48:12-17; 55:10-14.

Plaintiff downloaded from Defendant’s website the Operation Manual for the Sprayer, and referenced these instructions immediately before the accident. See id. at 60:7-61:4. Plaintiff testified that he did not read the “entire” manual, and when asked if he read the “first few pages,” which contain warnings, he answered “probably not.” Id. at 71:6-16. Nonetheless, when asked whether he read the “Personal Protective Equipment” warning subsection of the Operation Manual, which appears in these first few pages, Plaintiff answered “Umm, probably not in its entirety, but yes, I ... I always go through the safety warnings.” Id. at 81:5-11. This section states: “Wear appropriate protective equipment when in the work area to prevent serious injury, including eye injury ...” Id. at 81:12-16; see also Docket No. 41-3 at 5 (Operation Manual reviewed at deposition); see also Operation Manual (“Operation Manual”) at 5, Rivord Deck Ex 4, Docket No. 41-14 (“You must wear appropriate protective equipment when operating, servicing, or when in the operating area of the equipment to help protect you from serious injury, including eye injury, inhalation of toxic fumes, burns, and hearing loss. This equipment includes but is not limited to: * Protective eye wear ....”).1

The Warning section instructs the user that “[t]he following warnings are for the setup, use, grounding, maintenance and repair of the equipment. The exclamation point symbol alerts you to a general warning and the hazard symbol refers to procedure-specific risks. Refer back to these warnings. Additional, product-specific warnings may be found throughout the body of this manual where applicable.” Operation Manual at 3 (emphasis added). Plaintiff testified that he specifically referenced the section of the Operation Manual entitled “Pressure Relief Procedure,” see Tr. 75:4-14, which contains hazard symbols that correspond to the specific danger of “skin injection” hazard and general warning, but does not'include the hazard symbol that corresponds to the need to wear personal protective equipment, including eye wear. See Operation Manual at 9-10.

Once Plaintiff determined that the Sprayer would not function properly after cleaning the filter and hose, he again eon-[979]*979suited the Pressure Relief Procedure section of the Operation Manual, see Tr. 64:12-64:2, and decided to attempt additional cleaning. Following the steps set forth in the pressure relief procedure, Plaintiff (1) turned off the power switch and unplugged the power cord; (2) turned the prime/spray valve to prime to relieve pressure; (3) triggered the gun to relieve pressure, but nothing came out. See id. at 75:10-24. Plaintiff does not recall whether he engaged the trigger lock or whether the Sprayer he used had a trigger lock, which is the fourth step of the procedure, but this fact does not appear to be material. See id. at 75:10-15. Plaintiff then proceeded to the final step of the instructions, which states: “If you suspect the spray tip or hose is clogged or that pressure has not been fully relieved after following the steps above, VERY SLOWLY loosen tip guard retaining nut or hose end coupling to relieve pressure gradually, then loosen completely. Clear hose or tip obstruction. Read Unclogging Spray Tip, page 13.” See Operation Manual at 9 (capitalization in original); Tr. 76:25-77:8. Plaintiff testified that he believed the hose was clogged, and that the system was not under pressure at this time. See Tr. 79:6-22. Plaintiff testified that there was nothing to indicate that the Sprayer was under pressure; the Sprayer contained “no gauge, no kind of symptoms” to indicate pressurization. Id. at 80:4-13. Plaintiff then loosened the hose end coupling very slowly. See id. at 77:9-11; 78:9-13. As he loosened it, an “explosion” occurred, sending debris into his eyes and causing lasting injury; his face was approximately 30 inches from the coupling at the time. Id. at 63:8-16; 89:1— 90:6. Plaintiff was not wearing eyeglasses at the time of the accident. See id. at 71:2-5. He avers that he did not know the Sprayer was pressurized at this time, and that had he known, he would not have tried to disconnect the gun from the hose. See Mariscal Decl. ¶ 4, Docket No. 42-2. He further avers that had there been a hazard warning symbol advising him to wear protective glasses in the Pressure Relief Procedure section of the Operation Manual, he would have followed the warning. See id. ¶ 5.

Plaintiff sued Defendant in California Superior Court, in the County of Alameda, on April 30, 2013. Plaintiff alleged one cause of action for product liability, which contained three counts: (1) breach of implied warranty; (2) negligence; and (3) strict liability. On June 6, 2013, Defendant removed the case to this Court. Defendant answered the complaint, and moved for summary judgment on all claims on May 12, 2014.

LEGAL STANDARD

Under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine dispute as to material facts and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).2 Material facts are those that may affect the outcome of the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,

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Bluebook (online)
52 F. Supp. 3d 973, 2014 WL 2919520, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88045, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mariscal-v-graco-inc-cand-2014.