Rote v. Zel Custom Mfg., LLC

383 F. Supp. 3d 779
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedApril 12, 2019
DocketCase No: 2:13-cv-1189
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 383 F. Supp. 3d 779 (Rote v. Zel Custom Mfg., LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rote v. Zel Custom Mfg., LLC, 383 F. Supp. 3d 779 (S.D. Ohio 2019).

Opinion

JAMES L. GRAHAM, United States District Judge *781This once-complicated tort action now presents one main question: do the provisions of the Ohio Product Liability Act which impose liability on the "manufacturer" of a "product" apply to a foreign sovereign who manufactured ammunition for military use in 1982? The court finds that the ammunition falls outside the definition of a "product" under the OPLA because it was not manufactured for introduction into trade or commerce and was not intended for sale. Thus, the motion for summary judgment of defendant Dirección General de Fabricaciones Militares ("DGFM") is GRANTED.

I. Background

This case involves the sort of fact pattern one might expect to find in a law school exam. Plaintiff Troy Rote was invited to a party being held in Sunbury, Ohio on a 14-acre piece of property owned by of defendants Gary and Judith Buyer. See G. Buyer Dep. at 24. The party, convened on September 10, 2011 to celebrate Mr. Buyer's birthday, featured college football watching, rifle shooting and beer drinking. See Rote Dep. at 47, 50. At Mr. Buyer's request, defendant Edward Grimm came to the party with a .50 caliber, bolt-action rifle he owned. See Grimm Dep. at 93. Grimm had constructed the firearm by removing the lower receiver from a semi-automatic rifle, which was manufactured by defendant Bushmaster Firearms and sold by defendant Vance Outdoor, and assembling it to an upper receiver manufactured by defendant Zel Custom and sold by Vance. See id. at 69-70.

Grimm also brought to the party ammunition he purchased online from defendant Ammoman.com. See id. at 81-82. The rounds of ammunition came in a plain brown box with no markings. See Doc. 152-1 at PAGEID 1467. Each round had a headstamp of "02 FLB 82." Id. It is undisputed that the headstamp belongs to DGFM, an instrumentality of the Republic of Argentina operating under the supervision of its Ministry of Defense. The headstamp signifies that the rounds were manufactured by DGFM in February 1982 at a government munitions factory in the city of Fray Luis Beltrán, Argentina. See Arpin Decl. at ¶ 7. The ammunition was manufactured for military use, but DGFM is aware of two instances in which ammunition of the type that allegedly injured Rote passed out of the control of the Argentine military: (1) when Argentina lost the Falkland Islands War in June 1982 and possibly abandoned some amount of military equipment there and (2) when a cabal of Argentine government officials unlawfully sold armaments and ammunition in the early 1990s to the Croatian military during its war of independence against Yugoslavia. More on this later.

Several people at the party shot the rifle. Rote initially declined an opportunity to shoot it, but he agreed to give it a try at the urging of Buyer and Grimm. See Rote Dep. at 70, 187-88. Rote placed a round in the chamber, and attempted to push the bolt forward. He felt some resistance as he did so, and Grimm advised him to force the bolt shut. See id. at 62, 82. When Rote exerted more force, the round detonated out-of-battery and injured his hand. See id. at 84, 87.

Plaintiff filed this suit in state court and asserted various state law claims, including negligence, premises liability and violations of the OPLA. DGFM removed the action to federal court, invoking the removal *782provision for actions against foreign states. See 28 U.S.C. § 1441(d). DGFM then moved to dismiss the claims against it on the basis of foreign sovereign immunity. The court denied the motion and the Sixth Circuit affirmed, holding that DGFM was not entitled to sovereign immunity. See Rote v. Zel Custom Mfg., LLC, 816 F.3d 383 (6th Cir. 2016).

After engaging in extensive discovery, including much expert discovery, the parties have reported that all claims have been settled, except plaintiff's claims against DGFM and Ammoman. See Doc. 258.

In the Third Amended Complaint, plaintiff asserts that DGFM violated the OPLA by: (1) failing to provide adequate warnings about its ammunition, (2) producing the ammunition out of compliance with manufacturer's representations and (3) defectively designing and manufacturing the ammunition. See O.R.C. §§ 2307.71 -.77. Plaintiff asserts that Ammoman is liable as a supplier of the allegedly defective ammunition. See O.R.C. §§ 2307.78. Additionally, plaintiff's spouse asserts a claim for loss of consortium.

This matter is before the court on DGFM's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff does not contest DGFM's motion as it concerns his second and third OPLA claims - those for noncompliance with manufacturer's representations and for defective design and manufacture - and the court will grant the motion as to those claims.1 As plaintiff puts it, the crux his claim against DGFM is for failure to provide adequate warnings about the ammunition. See Doc. 200 at PAGEID 4100. According to plaintiff, DGFM should have placed its ammunition in packaging denoting it as "military surplus" or "only appropriate for use in a machine gun." Id.

II. Standard of Review

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, summary judgment is proper if the evidentiary materials in the record show that there is "no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a) ; see Longaberger Co. v. Kolt, 586 F.3d 459, 465 (6th Cir. 2009). The moving party bears the burden of proving the absence of genuine issues of material fact and its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, which may be accomplished by demonstrating that the nonmoving party lacks evidence to support an essential element of its case on which it would bear the burden of proof at trial. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ; Walton v. Ford Motor Co.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
383 F. Supp. 3d 779, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rote-v-zel-custom-mfg-llc-ohsd-2019.