Pasillas v. Okuma American Corp.

946 F. Supp. 2d 762, 2013 WL 1858764, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63051
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMay 2, 2013
DocketNo. 10 C 7614
StatusPublished

This text of 946 F. Supp. 2d 762 (Pasillas v. Okuma American Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pasillas v. Okuma American Corp., 946 F. Supp. 2d 762, 2013 WL 1858764, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63051 (N.D. Ill. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ELAINE E. BUCKLO, District Judge.

On September 6, 2011, plaintiff filed an amended complaint against defendant Okuma asserting claims for negligence and strict product liability arising out of an incident in which plaintiff was injured while working on a machine manufactured by defendant. Now before me is defendant’s motion for summary judgment, which I deny for the reasons that follow.

I.

The following is the basic story that emerges from the facts that are either undisputed or construed in the light most favorable to plaintiff. Plaintiff is an experienced service engineer who was sent by his employer, Morris Midwest, to repair a malfunctioning machine manufactured by defendant. Upon disassembling the machine, plaintiff determined that the problem involved the machine’s “spindle,” and that to repair it, he would have to disassemble the “spindle assembly.”1 This entailed removing a part called the “draw-bar.”

Plaintiff understood that defendant manufactures drawbars using one of two alternative designs: the “helical spring” design and the “Bellville washer” design. In the first design, the drawbar is under pressure, and a pressure relieving “compression” tool is required to remove the draw-bar safely. In the second design, the drawbar is not under the same pressure and does not require a pressure relief tool for safe disassembly.

In the course of disassembling the machine, plaintiff could feel pressure on the drawbar, and he confirmed, using a specialized tool, that the part was indeed under pressure. Plaintiff did not have a compression tool, so he called defendant’s technical support. Plaintiff spoke to Dave Vega, an employee of defendant, who told [764]*764plaintiff that there should not be pressure on the drawbar because the machine plaintiff was repairing had the Bellville washer design. Plaintiff and Vega both testified that Vega consulted the design drawings for the machine, and also consulted his “advisor,” Toru Sakuraí. Vega and Sakurai concluded that, based on the designs, the drawbar should be relaxed and not under pressure.

Plaintiff told Dave Vega that he did not want to proceed without the compression tool and asked both his employer and defendant for the tool, but he was told he could not get it. Plaintiff told Vega that he did not think it was safe to proceed, but “trusted [Vega’s] expertise,” explaining at his deposition that Vega, whom plaintiff consulted frequently in the course of his work, “ha[d] been there for like 20 years.” Vega told plaintiff that he should be “cautious” if he felt pressure, but did not tell plaintiff not to proceed.

Plaintiff thus proceeded to adjust one of several bolts that held the drawbar in place, whereupon the drawbar “shot out.” Plaintiff was injured after the shooting drawbar caused him to fall back and hit his neck on the machine.

II.

Summary judgment is proper where “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A genuine issue of material fact exists if “there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). I must construe all facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and draw all justifiable inferences in his favor. Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

Defendant argues that it is entitled to summary judgment on both of these claims because whatever misinformation defendant gave plaintiff about the machine’s design (and there is no dispute that defendant did give him misinformation), plaintiff understood the risks of proceeding without a compression tool and assumed that risk. Defendant acknowledges that assumption of risk is generally a question for the jury but argues that on this record, it is entitled to judgment on the theory of “secondary implied assumption of risk,” which Illinois law defines as “assumption of the risk ... where the defendant’s negligence created a danger that was apparent to the injured party, who nevertheless voluntarily chose to encounter it.” Country Mut. Ins. Co. v. Sunbeam Products, Inc., 500 F.Supp.2d 986, 990 (N.D.Ill.2007) (quoting Evans v. Lima Lima Flight Team, Inc., 373 Ill.App.3d 407, 311 Ill.Dec. 521, 869 N.E.2d 195, 206 (2007)).

The very excerpt of plaintiffs testimony on which defendant relies, however, reveals that when plaintiff expressed doubts about the safety of proceeding, telling Dave Vega, “this thing has pressure,” Vega (whose experience, plaintiff testified, was greater than plaintiffs own) told him, “no, it shouldn’t have.” Plaintiff further testified: “And I told Dave Vega, it feels like a spring is stuck on the drawbar and holding it, because from experience. And he said that should not be the problem. The machine has beveled washers. That should not be the problem. So he said go ahead. Just be careful.” Pasillas Dep., Def. L.R. 56.1 Stmt., Exh. B at 79:15-22. On this evidence, plaintiff is entitled to have a jury decide whether it was apparent to him that it was dangerous to remove the drawbar without a compression tool, [765]*765and that he proceeded to do so in spite of the risk.

Defendant emphasizes, as if it settled the matter, that plaintiff answered “yes” to the question, “And in this instance you knew you were really taking a risk?” But in Moran v. Raymond Corp., 484 F.2d 1008 (7th Cir.1973), the very case on which defendant focuses, the court held that the determination of assumption of risk “is not to be made solely on the basis of the user’s own statements but rather upon the jury’s assessment of all of the facts established by the evidence.” Id. at 1015. Here, the plaintiffs admission that he was generally aware of some unspecified risk does not entitle defendant to judgment on the basis that plaintiff unreasonably assumed the specific risk that releasing the drawbar would cause him to fall backwards and hit his neck on the machine. See Sunbeam, Products, 500 F.Supp.2d at 991 (declining to conclude as a matter of law that plaintiff who knew her toaster had a “sticking” problem voluntarily assumed the risk that the toaster would catch fire and damage her house).2

Finally, “[a] plaintiffs acceptance of the risk is not to be regarded as voluntary where the plaintiff is compelled to accept the risk in order to exercise or protect a right or privilege of which the defendant has no right to deprive him.” Varilek v. Mitchell Engineering Co., 200 Ill.App.3d 649, 146 Ill.Dec. 402, 558 N.E.2d 365, 375 (1990). In Varilek,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Juan Moran v. The Raymond Corporation
484 F.2d 1008 (Seventh Circuit, 1973)
Evans v. Lima Lima Flight Team, Inc.
869 N.E.2d 195 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2007)
Mikolajczyk v. Ford Motor Co.
901 N.E.2d 329 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2008)
Varilek v. Mitchell Engineering Co.
558 N.E.2d 365 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
Country Mutual Insurance v. Sunbeam Products, Inc.
500 F. Supp. 2d 986 (N.D. Illinois, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
946 F. Supp. 2d 762, 2013 WL 1858764, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63051, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pasillas-v-okuma-american-corp-ilnd-2013.