Provanzano v. MTD Products Co.

215 F. Supp. 3d 134, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143405, 2016 WL 6089686
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedOctober 17, 2016
DocketCivil Action No. 15-11720-NMG
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 215 F. Supp. 3d 134 (Provanzano v. MTD Products Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Provanzano v. MTD Products Co., 215 F. Supp. 3d 134, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143405, 2016 WL 6089686 (D. Mass. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

Nathaniel M. Gorton, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Anthony Provanzano (“plaintiff’) brought this action against defendants MTD Products Co. and Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC (collectively, “defendants”) arising out of a riding lawn mower accident during which four of plaintiffs fingers were amputated. Plaintiff claims MTD’s lawn mower was defective and unreasonably dangerous and as a result, caused plaintiffs injuries. Plaintiff also seeks relief from Lowe’s for selling such a product.

Defendants filed separate motions for summary judgment against plaintiff. For the following reasons, those motions will be allowed, in part, and denied, in part.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

Late in the afternoon of October 12, 2014, Provanzano began to mow his lawn. After making two or three passes around his front yard, he noticed grass was clumping and not being ejected from the chute. He got off the rider mower to see if the grass was wet enough to clump and whether he had to remove the clog.

Before dismounting, however, he locked the parking break and put the lawn mower in neutral. He also testified that he thinks he accidently pulled the deck height lever instead of the blade engagement lever (“PTO lever”). Provanzano recounted that while dismounting he had one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on the back of the seat to steady himself until he reached the ground. He then went to the back of the mower, surmised there was a clog and attempted to clear it. He walked around to the right side of the mower where he compared the grass from the chute and the uncut grass under foot. At that point, Provanzano reached under the cutting deck in an attempt to clear the clog resulting in the amputation of four of his fingers.

Plaintiff purchased his riding lawn mower, manufactured by defendant MTD Products, from a Lowe’s Home Centers in Dan-vers, Massachusetts.

The riding lawn mower has a PTO lever which is used to engage and disengage the cutting blade from the mower’s engine. The PTO lever is located next to a deck height lever on the right fender of the mower. The riding mower also has an op[137]*137erator presence control (“OPC”) switch in the seat frame which is designed to stop the engine and blade as soon as the riders’ weight is removed from the back of the seat.

In April, 2015, defendants removed the case from Massachusetts state court to federal court. Pending before this Court are defendants’ motions for summary-judgment on all counts of the complaint.

II. Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment

Defendants move for summary judgment on the merits of each of plaintiffs four claims. The complaint alleges separately against each defendant 1) breach of implied and express warranty of merchantability (Counts I and II), 2) negligence (Counts III and IV), 3) unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, M.G.L. c. 93A (“Chapter 93A”) (Counts V and VI) and 4) double or treble damages under that same statute (Counts VII and VIII).

A. Legal Standard

The role of summary judgment is “to pierce the pleadings and to assess the proof in order to see whether there is a genuine need for trial.” Mesnick v. Gen. Elec. Co., 950 F.2d 816, 822 (1st Cir. 1991). The burden is on the moving party to show, through the pleadings, discovery and affidavits, “that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the mov-ant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A fact is material if it “might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A genuine .issue of material fact exists where the evidence with respect to the material fact in dispute “is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Id.

Once the moving party has satisfied its burden, the burden shifts to the non-moving party to set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine, triable issue. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The Court must view the entire record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and indulge all reasonable inferences in that party’s favor. O’Connor v. Steeves, 994 F.2d 905, 907 (1st Cir. 1993). Summary judgment is appropriate if, after viewing the record in the non-moving party’s favor, the Court determines that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

B. Application

1. Counts I and II: Breach of Express and Implied Warranties of Merchantability

Plaintiff first claims that defendants breached express and implied warranties of merchantability.

To the extent plaintiff asserts claims against defendants for breach of express warranty in Counts I and II, the Court will allow defendants’ motions for summary judgment. There are no facts in the record indicating that plaintiff relied on any specific warranties when he purchased the lawn mower. See M.G.L. c. 106, § 2-313(l)(a).

With respect to the claims for breach of implied warranties, however, the Court will deny defendants’ motions for summary judgment.

Under Massachusetts law, manufacturers impliedly warrant that their products will be “fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used.” Back v. Wickes Corp., 375 Mass. 633, 378 [138]*138N.E.2d 964, 969 (1978) (quoting M.G.L. c. 106, § 2-314(2)(C)). To succeed on its breach of implied warranty of merchantability claim, plaintiff must show that 1) defendant manufactured or sold the product that injured-.plaintiff, 2) a defect or unreasonably dangerous condition existed so that it was not suitable for the ordinary uses for which goods of that kind were sold, 3) plaintiff was using the product in a manner that defendant intended or that could reasonably have been foreseen and 4) the defect or unreasonably defective condition was a legal cause of plaintiffs injury. Lally v. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, 45 Mass.App.Ct. 317, 698 N.E.2d 28, 43 (1998).

The plaintiff may base a claim for breach of an implied warranty on a manufacturing, design or warning defect that makes the product unreasonably dangerous. Evans v. Lorillard Tobacco Co., 465 Mass. 411, 990 N.E.2d 997, 1010 (2013).

a.Design defect

First, defendants aver that plaintiff cannot prevail on a design defect theory because he did not show that moving the OPC to a different location on the seat of the rider lawn mower would have reduced the harm to the plaintiff. The Court disagrees.

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215 F. Supp. 3d 134, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143405, 2016 WL 6089686, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/provanzano-v-mtd-products-co-mad-2016.