Miller v. Ford Motor Co.

419 P.3d 392, 363 Or. 105
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedJune 7, 2018
DocketSC S065010
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 419 P.3d 392 (Miller v. Ford Motor Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Ford Motor Co., 419 P.3d 392, 363 Or. 105 (Or. 2018).

Opinion

NELSON, J.

*393**107This case is before us on a certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. At issue is the correct interpretation of ORS 30.905(2), which places limits on the timeframe for initiating a product liability civil action for personal injury or property damage. Oregon's statute of repose for product liability actions provides that an action "must be commenced before the later of * * * [t]en years after the date on which the product was first purchased * * * or * * * [t]he expiration of any statute of repose for an equivalent civil action in the state in which the product was manufactured." ORS 30.905(2). The certified question, rephrased for the sake of clarity,1 is as follows: If the state of manufacture has no statute of repose for actions equivalent to an Oregon product liability action, is a product liability action in Oregon subject to any statute of repose? Miller v. Ford Motor Co. , 857 F.3d 1016, 1017 (9th Cir. 2017). For the reasons that follow, we answer in the negative: Under ORS 30.905(2), when an Oregon product liability action involves a product that was manufactured in a state that has no statute of repose for an equivalent civil action, then the action in Oregon also is not subject to a statute of repose.

We take the facts from the Ninth Circuit's certification order. Oregon resident Miller owned a Ford Escape, which was manufactured in June 2001 in the State of Missouri. The Escape was first sold to a consumer in September 2001. In May 2012, the Escape caught fire while parked in Miller's garage, allegedly due to a faulty sensor in the engine compartment. The fire spread from Miller's garage to her home, causing significant property damage. Miller also fractured her heel as she fled the fire.

In April 2014, Miller filed a product liability action in Oregon state court, alleging various design and manufacturing defects, as well as failures to warn. Invoking diversity jurisdiction, Ford removed the case to the US District Court for the District of Oregon and later moved for summary judgment, arguing that the Oregon statute of repose for product **108liability actions barred Miller's claims because the Escape was first sold to a consumer more than 10 years before she filed her action. The district court denied the motion, concluding that Oregon's 10-year statute of repose did not apply because ORS 30.905(2)(b) required the court to apply the repose period of the state of manufacture. Because Missouri had no statute of repose for product liability actions, the district court concluded that no such limitation applied to bar Miller's claims. Ford appealed the district court's judgment, challenging the court's interpretation of ORS 30.905(2). The Ninth Circuit, after briefing and argument, certified the question at issue in this case.

Our task in interpreting a statute is to "pursue the intention of the legislature." ORS 174.020(1)(a). To that end, we review the text of the statute, in context, along with any relevant legislative history and settled rules of construction. State v. Gaines , 346 Or. 160, 171-72, 206 P.3d 1042 (2009) (stating analysis). The statute at issue here, ORS 30.905, provides:

"(1) Subject to the limitation imposed by subsection (2) of this section, a product liability civil action for personal injury or property damage must be commenced not later than two years after the plaintiff discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the personal injury or property damage and the causal relationship between the injury or damage and the product, or the causal relationship between the injury or damage and the conduct of the defendant.
"(2) A product liability civil action for personal injury or property damage must be commenced before the later of:
"(a) Ten years after the date on which the product was first purchased for use or consumption; or
"(b) The expiration of any statute of repose for an equivalent civil action in the *394state in which the product was manufactured, or, if the product was manufactured in a foreign country, the expiration of any statute of repose for an equivalent civil action in the state into which the product was imported."

The statute of limitations set forth in ORS 30.905(1)"limit[s] the time a party has to initiate an action once a claim has accrued"; it is subject to a discovery rule, in that it "does **109not begin to run until the injured party knows or should know that it has been injured." Shasta View Irrigation Dist. v. Amoco Chemicals , 329 Or. 151, 161, 986 P.2d 536 (1999). Subsection (2) sets forth a statute of repose, which establishes a "maximum time[ ] to file a claim, regardless of the date of discovery of an injury." Id . at 162, 986 P.2d 536.

As defendant reads ORS 30.905(2), when the manufacturing state lacks an applicable statute of repose, an Oregon plaintiff is bound by Oregon's 10-year limitation. Defendant argues that the text, context, and legislative history, as well as various constitutional concerns, require that interpretation. As plaintiff reads ORS 30.905

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
419 P.3d 392, 363 Or. 105, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-ford-motor-co-or-2018.