McDonald v. Kubota Manufacturing of America Corp.

139 So. 3d 153, 2013 Ala. LEXIS 202, 2013 WL 4294947
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedAugust 16, 2013
Docket1111513
StatusPublished

This text of 139 So. 3d 153 (McDonald v. Kubota Manufacturing of America Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McDonald v. Kubota Manufacturing of America Corp., 139 So. 3d 153, 2013 Ala. LEXIS 202, 2013 WL 4294947 (Ala. 2013).

Opinion

STUART, Justice.

Rebecca B. McDonald (“McDonald”), as administrator of the estate of Jeremy Wayne McDonald (“Jeremy”), her deceased son, sued Kubota Manufacturing of America Corporation (“KMA”), Kubota Corporation (“KC”), and Kubota Tractor Corporation (“KTC”) (these defendants are hereinafter referred to collectively as “the Kubota defendants”), asserting various claims after her son died as a result of injuries sustained when a Kubota ZD18 zero-turn lawnmower (“the ZD18 mower”) he was operating rolled over, pinning him underneath it. Following a three-week trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the Kubota defendants, and the trial court entered a judgment on that verdict. McDonald’s subsequent motion for a new trial was denied by the trial court, and McDonald now appeals, arguing that she is entitled to a new trial based on juror misconduct and errors the trial court made when instructing the jury. We affirm.

I.

On June 19, 2009, Jeremy, a laborer for the Town of Thorsby, began working at approximately 5:00 a.m., spraying for mosquitoes for approximately two hours before returning to the public-works shop at approximately 7:00 a.m. for further instructions from his supervisor, Terry Jackson. Jackson instructed him to finish mowing the lawn at the fire department and then to mow the grass at the girls’ softball field. Jackson was initially with Jeremy at the fire department, but he left at approximately 8:15 a.m. to travel to another location where a worker was having equipment problems. When Jackson left, Jeremy had the ZD18 mower he was using loaded onto a trailer and was preparing to leave for the softball field, which is approximately two blocks away.

At trial, Jackson testified that there was a heavy dew on the grass that morning and that he instructed Jeremy to mow the flat softball field before mowing the areas surrounding the field in order to allow the surrounding areas, which bordered sloping areas that had to be mowed either with push mowers or using power trimmers, additional time to dry. However, it appears that Jeremy first began mowing one of the areas surrounding the field. Although there were no witnesses to the accident, Jeremy apparently lost control of the ZD18 mower when he got too close to a slope, causing the ZD18 mower to lose traction and start sliding down the slope before hitting a small ditch or hole, where the 1,170-pound ZD18 mower rolled over on top of Jeremy, pinning him to the ground. At approximately 9:30 a.m., Jackson was returning to the area and was traveling past the softball field when a neighbor waved him down and told him a lawnmower was overturned near the field. Jackson and the neighbor then went to the lawnmower and discovered Jeremy underneath it; however, by that time Jeremy was deceased.

The ZD18 mower Jeremy was using at the time of the accident was designed in Japan by KC, manufactured by KMA at its Georgia plant, and distributed in the United States by KTC, a California-based corporation. At the time the ZD18 mower was first brought to market in 2001, it did not include any type of seatbelt or roll[155]*155over protection system (“ROPS”) to prevent the possibility of injury to its operator in a roll-over accident. However, in January 2002, after learning of a fatal roll-over accident that occurred in the summer of 2001, KTC introduced the Kubota ZD18F mower, which was virtually identical to the ZD18 mower with the addition of a built-in ROPS and a seatbelt. KTC also undertook a campaign to notify all Kubota dealers and ZD18 mower owners that a ROPS- and seatbelt-retrofit kit was available for purchase to provide protection to the operator in case the ZD18 mower rolled over during use.

The ZD18 mower in the instant case was purchased by the Town of Thorsby in May 2002 from Clanton Tractor & Equipment, Inc. (“CTE”); it did not come retrofitted with the ROPS and seatbelt kit. A KTC representative testified that service bulletins and other communications regarding the ROPS- and seatbelt-retrofit kits for ZD18s were sent to CTE both through email and United States mail in February, March, and April 2002, and again annually at least through 2009; however, CTE’s president could not recall ever receiving the information. The Town of Thorsby took the ZD18 to CTE for maintenance at least annually after its purchase but was never advised that a ROPS- and seatbelt-retrofit kit was available.

On June 7, 2010, McDonald sued KMA and CTE, asserting claims of breach of warranty, defective design under the Alabama Extended Manufacturer’s Liability Doctrine (“AEMLD”), negligence, and wantonness. KC and KTC were subsequently added as defendants. On February 22, 2012, McDonald entered into a pro tanto settlement with CTE, and CTE was dismissed from the case. On March 6, 2012, the case against the Kubota defendants proceeded to trial. Following the close of McDonald’s case, the trial court granted the Kubota defendants’ motion for a judgment as a matter of law on McDonald’s breach-of-warranty claim. The remaining claims were thereafter submitted to the jury, and, on March 22, 2012, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the Kubota defendants on all counts; the trial court thereafter entered judgment on that verdict in favor of the Kubota defendants. On May 4, 2012, McDonald moved for a new trial, alleging, among other things, that a juror had failed to give truthful responses during voir dire and that the trial court had failed to properly charge the jury. The Kubota defendants opposed the motion, and, following a hearing, the trial court denied the motion on July 15, 2012. On August 21, 2012, McDonald filed her notice of appeal.

II.

McDonald argues that the trial court erred by denying her motion for a new trial. In McBride v. Sheppard, 624 So.2d 1069, 1070-71 (Ala.1993), this Court stated:

“[T]he ruling on a motion for new trial is within the discretion of the trial court and ... the trial court’s decision carries a strong presumption of correctness. Gold Kist, Inc. v. Tedder, 580 So.2d 1321, 1322 (Ala.1991). The decision of the trial court should not be disturbed on appeal unless the record plainly and palpably shows that the trial court erred and that some legal right has been abused.”

Thus, we review the decision of the trial court to determine whether it exceeded its discretion in denying McDonald’s motion for a new trial.

III.

McDonald’s first argument is that the trial court exceeded its discretion in denying her motion for a new trial based on juror misconduct because, McDonald [156]*156alleges, juror J.L. failed to disclose during voir dire (1) that he knew a material witness — Jackson—and (2) that he had a contract to provide certain landscaping services to the City of Calera. In Union Mortgage Co. v. Barlow, 595 So.2d 1335 (Ala.1992), this Court considered another party’s claim that it was entitled to a new trial on the basis of similar allegations that jurors failed to respond truthfully to questions during voir dire. We stated then:

“Parties involved in litigation are entitled to true and honest answers from prospective jurors in order to help them exercise their discretion in the use of peremptory strikes and, when jurors fail to answer questions correctly, the parties are denied the exercise of that right. Martin v. Mansell, 357 So.2d 964 (Ala.1978). The proper inquiry on a motion for a new trial based on improper or nonexistent responses to voir dire questions is whether the response, or the lack of response, resulted in probable prejudice to the movant.

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Bluebook (online)
139 So. 3d 153, 2013 Ala. LEXIS 202, 2013 WL 4294947, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcdonald-v-kubota-manufacturing-of-america-corp-ala-2013.