Robert R. McClung v. Ford Motor Company, a Corporation

472 F.2d 240, 11 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1164, 1973 U.S. App. LEXIS 11985

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: January 26, 1973
• Docket: 72-1257
• Status: Published

Opinions

PER CURIAM:

We affirm for the reasons stated by the District Court. 333 F.Supp. 17 (S. D.W.Va.1971).

In this diversity case, we are not free to fashion a rule for West Virginia which accords with our preferences. We must examine available materials to predict, as best we can, what the West Virginia Supreme Court would do if presented with this same question.

That court has not considered an automobile manufacturer’s liability for the aggravation of injuries caused by a defect in the vehicle when the defect was not a contributing cause of the initial collision. Prior to the adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code, however, that court had held there was no liability in tort or contract for personal injuries even though the defect in the vehicle caused the initial collision, if there was an express warranty limited to the replacement of defective parts. Payne v. Valley Motor Sales, Inc., 146 W.Va. 1063, 124 S.E.2d 622; Williams v. Chrysler Corporation, 148 W.Va. 655, 137 S.E.2d 225.

A court with so restrictive an approach to the allowance of damages for personal injuries when the defect in the vehicle was the immediate and direct cause of them is not likely to embrace a doctrine of recovery for enhancement of injuries in “second collision” situations when the alleged defect played no causative part in the initial collision.

Affirmed.