White v. Caterpillar, Inc.

867 P.2d 100, 1993 WL 263665
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 2, 1993
Docket91CA1696
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 867 P.2d 100 (White v. Caterpillar, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
White v. Caterpillar, Inc., 867 P.2d 100, 1993 WL 263665 (Colo. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinions

Opinion by

Judge ROTHENBERG.

In this personal injury action arising from a gasoline truck explosion, plaintiffs, Larry and Beverly White, appeal the judgment entered in favor of defendants, Caterpillar, Inc. (Caterpillar), Paccar, Inc. (Paccar), Paccar Leasing Corporation (Paccar Leasing), Lease Midwest, Inc. (Lease Midwest), and Colorado Kenworth, Inc. (Kenworth), following a jury trial. We reverse and remand for a new trial as to defendant Paccar, but affirm as to all other defendants.

In 1988, plaintiff Larry White (White) was employed by Harpel Oil as a gas hauler. He drove a Kenworth truck which was manufactured by Paccar and equipped with a diesel engine made by Caterpillar. Harpel Oil leased the truck from Paccar Leasing, Inc., through Lease Midwest. The design specifications for the truck were developed for Har-pel Oil by Lease Midwest and Kenworth.

In July 1988, White delivered gasoline to Plains Oil & Gas. Without measuring the level of gasoline already in the storage tank, White began pumping gasoline by inserting the hose into the tank, opening the truck’s cargo tank valve, and starting the pump powered by the truck’s diesel engine.

After checking the hose connections, White entered the service station, and, while he was inside, the truck’s engine started to race. White ran out of the station to the cab of the truck and turned off the ignition. However, the engine did not stop but continued to race as gasoline fumes were pulled through the engine’s air intake system. White then no--ticed that gas was overflowing from the tank. Within seconds, an explosion and fire occurred, and White was severely burned.

White and his wife filed an action against defendants here and others seeking damages on theories of strict liability and negligence. Basically, White claimed the accident was caused by Paccar’s design of the truck and engine which created an unreasonable risk of fire in the event of a gasoline spill. He further claimed the failure of all defendants to warn of the dangers associated with engines operated without a safety device known as an air inlet shutoff device (ASD) rendered the engine defective and unreasonably dangerous. Mrs. White sought damages for loss of consortium. Before trial, the Whites settled their claims against Harpel Oil and Plains Oil & Gas.

At trial, plaintiffs presented evidence that the engine overspeed caused an explosion or “backfire” in the engine, igniting the surrounding gas fumes. Plaintiffs claimed that: (1) the explosion could have been prevented by installing an ASD in the engine; (2) defendants were required to warn of the dangers of overspeed and appropriate measures to prevent and respond to it; and (3) a gasoline truck which can explode if exposed to gasoline fumes is unreasonably dangerous.

Briefly stated, defendants argued that: (1) engine overspeed did not cause the fire; (2) White’s injuries were caused by his own conduct; and (3) ASDs are unreliable, impractical, dangerous devices because inadvertent actuation can cause loss of steering and braking capabilities and, thus, loss of control of the vehicle on the highway. The jury returned a verdict in favor of all defendants on both the theories of strict liability and negligence.

I.

In regard to their strict liability theory of recovery, plaintiffs first contend that the trial court improperly instructed the jury regarding their claim of design defect. We agree that the trial court erred in this regard. However, plaintiffs did not assert a design defect by Caterpillar, the manufacturer of the engine, or by the other defendants. Thus, the design defect issue affects only the judgment entered in favor of Paccar on the products liability claim. It does not affect the judgments in favor of defendants Caterpillar, Paccar Leasing, Lease Midwest, Inc., or Kenworth, nor the judgment in favor of Paccar on the negligence theory of recovery.

In a products liability action, a plaintiff must prove that a product is in a “defective condition unreasonably danger[105]*105ous.” See Potthoff v. Alms, 41 Colo.App. 51, 583 P.2d 309 (1978). A claim of defect can be premised on a design defect, manufacturing defect, or a failure to warn. See Camacho v. Honda Motor Co., 741 P.2d 1240 (Colo.1987).

The courts have adopted two tests in order to determine whether a defective condition is unreasonably dangerous. The first test is the “consumer expectation test” and relies in large part upon Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402(A) comment i (1965). That comment states:

The article sold must be dangerous to an extent beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer who purchases it, with the ordinary knowledge common to the community as to its characteristics.

See Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. v. Heath, 722 P.2d 410 (Colo.1986); Davis v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 719 P.2d 324 (Colo.App.1985) (discussing Restatement § 402(A) in accident involving tractor without overhead protective structure).

Under the second test, the determination of whether a product is “unreasonably dangerous” is made through a risk-benefit analysis.

This test is required “where the unreasonableness of the danger in the design defect and the efficacy of alternative designs in achieving a reasonable degree of safety must be defined by primarily technical, scientific information.” Camacho v. Honda Motor Co., supra, at 1246-47. See Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. v. Heath, supra. This test has been applied in cases involving products that are complex and largely beyond the knowledge and experience of the ordinary consumer. See Armentrout v. FMC Corp., 842 P.2d 175, 182 (Colo.1992) (crane oiler injured by rotating upper part of a crane had the burden of proving the unreasonable dangerousness of the product “using the risk-benefit analysis”); Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. v. Heath, supra (prescription drugs); Camacho v. Honda Motor Co., supra (leg guards on a motorcycle).

At trial, plaintiffs tendered the following instruction which is based upon the risk/benefit test:

A product is unreasonably dangerous because of a defect in its design if it creates a risk of harm to persons or property which is not outweighed by the benefits to be achieved from such design.

However, the court instructed the jury only on plaintiffs’ theory of design defect based upon the “consumer expectation” test. That jury instruction stated:

A product is unreasonably dangerous because of a defect in its design if it creates a risk of harm to persons or property which would not ordinarily be expected.

We agree with the plaintiffs’ contention that the tendered instruction based upon the risk/benefit test should have been given.

Here, as in Camacho, the key issue was plaintiffs’ claim that the engine was unreasonably dangerous when used with combustible materials and that an alternative design existed, i.e., the inclusion of an ASD. And here, as in Camacho, the alternative design was defined primarily by technical, scientific information. As our supreme court stated in

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White v. Caterpillar, Inc.
867 P.2d 100 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1993)

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867 P.2d 100, 1993 WL 263665, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/white-v-caterpillar-inc-coloctapp-1993.