Smith v. JC Penney Company, Inc.

525 P.2d 1299, 269 Or. 643, 1974 Ore. LEXIS 423
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 9, 1974
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 525 P.2d 1299 (Smith v. JC Penney Company, Inc.) 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
Smith v. JC Penney Company, Inc., 525 P.2d 1299, 269 Or. 643, 1974 Ore. LEXIS 423 (Or. 1974).

Opinion

DENECKE, J.

This is a products liability case. The plaintiff was badly burned when a gasoline fire broke out in a service station and ignited an allegedly highly inflammable “fake fur” coat worn by plaintiff. A gasoline line on an automotive vehicle was being blown out with the air pressure hose used to inflate tires. So much force was applied to the gasoline line that it blew a spray of gasoline out of the vehicle’s opened tank and through an open door into the waiting room where there was a floor heater. Plaintiff was in the waiting room when the floor heater ignited the gasoline on the floor which in turn ignited her coat and she became a human torch.

The defendants McCabe and Slagh, dba The Central Eneo Service Station, operated the service station. The defendant J. C. Penney Company sold the coat to plaintiff. The defendant Bunker-Ramo allegedly supplied the fabric used by Roseda in manufacturing the coat. The jury returned a verdict for $600,000 against the Eneo Service Station and BunkerRamo, who appeal.

I

Bunker-Ramo’s first contention is that there was insufficient evidence to enable the jury to find that Bunker-Ramo supplied the fabric which went into this particular coat.

Plaintiff purchased the coat from Penney’s in November 1970. Penney’s purchased the coat from *647 Roseda in July or August 1970. According to Penney’s manager, on all of these coats purchased by Penney’s in July and August there was a red tag stating, “A Borg fabric made especially for Roseda Corporation.” Borg is the trade name for fabrics manufactured by Bunker-Ramo. Plaintiff and her mother also remembered a similar tag being on the coat plaintiff purchased.

Plaintiff saved another tag that was on the coat. A notation on the tag stated, “Style 3071 C 1239.” The testimony was that “C 1239” was cutting order C 1239 of Roseda.

Mr. Rothman is an officer of Roseda. A few weeks before trial his deposition was taken. He testified on deposition that because of the notations on the tag plaintiff saved he was certain the plaintiff’s coat was made from fabric supplied by Bunker-Ramo. He testified that for the entire year of 1970 this particular style number was manufactured from Borg fabrics. He stated that he was certain of his testimony because Roseda went through all of its cutting tickets to determine whose fabric was used. He went on to state that although in 1970 Roseda bought a similar fabric from Malden Mills, he could be certain that the fabric in plaintiff’s coat was from Bunker-Ramo because of the information from the cutting ticket.

At the trial counsel read the witness this testimony from his deposition and questioned him about an inventory record Roseda’s counsel had furnished plaintiff’s counsel at the beginning of the trial. Roth-man said this record was missing when he gave his deposition but had since been found. The witness testified that from this record he learned that on June 2, 1970, the inventory record of all fabrics supplied by *648 Malden Mills had been transferred to the inventory-control card of Bunker-Ramo. This was done because for Roseda’s purposes the fabrics from the two companies were identical and no purpose was served by having two inventory records. From June second on Roseda termed all fabrics used, “Borg” fabrics; however, this included fabrics supplied by Malden Mills. The witness testified that because of this state of Roseda’s record, after June 2, 1970, no one could determine whether a coat was made from fabrics supplied by Malden Mills or Bunker-Ramo. He testified, however, that any coat manufactured by Roseda prior to June 2, 1970, which was made pursuant to a cutting order stating that it was to be made from Borg fabrics would have been made from fabrics supplied by Bunker-Ramo.

The cutting records were introduced. Among the records was one for “Lot No. 1239,” the number stated on the tag preserved by plaintiff. The style number, stated on that lot number is “3071,” the same as on the tag. In the space printed “Mill No.” is inked “Borg Fabrics # 1530.” The fabric content and colors stated on the record are the same as in plaintiff’s coat. In the space on which is printed, “Tags,” is inked in “Borg Hang Tags.”

At the upper left-hand corner of this cutting order “5/13/70” is inked in. On the cutting order immediately prior to this one, which had the number “Lot No. 1217,” “4/29/70” is inked in at the upper left-hand corner. On the cutting order immediately after this one, which has the number “Lot No. 1261,” “5/28/70” is inked in at the upper left-hand corner. In a space on the lower left-hand corner of the cutting order is printed, “Date to Cutting Room,” “6 Cht” appears to *649 be written in there. On other orders in the same space, notations snch as “4 Cht,” “6 Cht,” or “7 Cht” are written in. No witness was asked to explain these figures and letters.

We are of the opinion that this is evidence from which the jury could find that Bunker-Ramo supplied the fabric used by Roseda in manufacturing plaintiff’s coat. The jury could reason that Roseda manufactured this coat prior to June 2, 1970, during a period Rothman testified Borg fabrics were used exclusively. Or the jury could find that even if it were manufactured subsequent to June 2,1970, the notations on the cutting order and the tags proved Roseda used Borg fabrics. They could disbelieve Rothman’s explanation that such notations did not prove Borg fabrics were used.

Bunker-Ramo argues that the cutting orders were hearsay and the evidence thereon incompetent because the orders did not comply with the criteria for admissibility provided in ORS 41.690, the admissibility of business records statute. The cutting orders were admitted without objection; therefore, it is immaterial whether they met the criteria for admissibility provided by the statute. Hearsay evidence admitted without objection is substantial evidence sufficient to support a verdict. Kraxberger v. Rogers, 231 Or 440, 451, 373 P2d 647 (1962); In re Estate of Elise Rosenberg, 196 Or 219, 246 P2d 858, 248 P2d 340 (1952); Shepard v. Purvine, 196 Or 348, 248 P2d 352 (1952); Egli v. Hutton, 135 Or 175, 294 P 347 (1931).

Bunker-Ramo also contends plaintiff’s evidence was not sufficient because to reach the conclusion that Bunker-Ramo’s fabric was used the jury would have *650 to follow a “chain of inferences.” Bunker-Ramo stated: “It has long been the law in Oregon that an inference upon an inference is pure speculation.” Any question whether this was Oregon law was removed by our decision in Eitel v. Times, Inc., 221 Or 585, 598-601, 352 P2d 485, 5 ALR3d 86 (1960).

“The steps in reasoning by which any proposition is sought to be provéd can almost always be stated separately in such a way as to reveal the process of moving from one inference to another in the course of proof. Where the inferences are strong enough ordinarily we do not express them in explaining how we reasoned to our conclusion. The admissibility of evidence should not rest upon a method of expressing the process of proof.

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Bluebook (online)
525 P.2d 1299, 269 Or. 643, 1974 Ore. LEXIS 423, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-jc-penney-company-inc-or-1974.