Wilke v. Woodhouse Ford, Inc.

774 N.W.2d 370, 278 Neb. 800
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 6, 2009
DocketS-08-807
StatusPublished
Cited by47 cases

This text of 774 N.W.2d 370 (Wilke v. Woodhouse Ford, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilke v. Woodhouse Ford, Inc., 774 N.W.2d 370, 278 Neb. 800 (Neb. 2009).

Opinion

774 N.W.2d 370 (2009)
278 Neb. 800

Elizabeth A. WILKE and Mark Wilke, Husband and Wife, Appellants,
v.
WOODHOUSE FORD, INC., a Nebraska Corporation, Appellee.

No. S-08-807.

Supreme Court of Nebraska.

November 6, 2009.

*374 Melany S. Chesterman, of Hauptman, O'Brien, Wolf & Lathrop, P.C., Omaha, for appellants.

Brian D. Nolan, of Nolan, Olson, Hansen, Lautenbaugh & Buckley, L.L.P., Omaha, for appellee.

HEAVICAN, C.J., WRIGHT, CONNOLLY, GERRARD, STEPHAN, McCORMACK, and MILLER-LERMAN, JJ.

McCORMACK, J.

I. NATURE OF CASE

Elizabeth A. Wilke and her husband, Mark Wilke, purchased a van from Woodhouse Ford, Inc. (Woodhouse). That same day, Elizabeth was injured when their 3-year-old daughter allegedly pulled the gearshift out of park, allowing the van to roll over Elizabeth's foot and leg, causing her to fall and hit her head on a concrete driveway. The Wilkes testified that the key was out of the ignition at the time of the accident. The van was purchased that day from Woodhouse. Woodhouse sold the van to the Wilkes "as is" and disclaimed all implied warranties. The Wilkes brought suit against Woodhouse alleging two alternative theories: negligence and breach of implied warranty of merchantability. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of Woodhouse, and the Wilkes appealed. We moved the case to our docket pursuant to our statutory authority to regulate the caseloads of the appellate courts of this state.[1]

II. BACKGROUND

The Wilkes purchased a used 2002 Ford Econoline cargo van from Woodhouse on September 18, 2004. Mark is not a trained mechanic and has only a basic knowledge of mechanics. Before purchasing the van, Mark started the van's engine but did not test-drive the van. Mark felt that test-driving the van or inspecting it further was unnecessary because he had purchased "good vehicles from Woodhouse before."

The purchase agreement stated that the van was used and purchased "AS IS" and "WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY" in bold type. The agreement further provided in a smaller font, "DEALER HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE . . . ." Both the Wilkes and the Woodhouse salesman signed the purchase agreement. There is no evidence that Woodhouse made any representations to the Wilkes regarding the condition or quality of the van.

Immediately after purchasing the van, the Wilkes drove directly to the home of their friend, approximately a 30- to 45-minute drive from the dealership. Elizabeth and her daughter drove in the family *375 vehicle, and Mark followed in the new van. Upon arriving, Mark pulled the van into the driveway, which was slightly sloped, and parked. Mark did not apply the emergency brake after he parked the van. The Wilkes both remembered Mark taking the key out of the ignition and putting it in his pocket after parking the van. Mark testified that he had no doubt that he took the key out of the ignition. And Elizabeth testified in her deposition that she did not hear any chimes or buzzers indicating that the key had been left in the ignition.

After parking the van, the Wilkes and their daughter went inside for approximately 30 minutes. They then went back outside to show their friend the new van. Mark opened the driver's-side door and the two doors in the back of the van. Elizabeth testified that she was standing directly behind the van and that Mark was sitting at the end of the van with their daughter on his lap. At some point, the daughter got down from Mark's lap and stood beside Elizabeth. Elizabeth testified that she turned her head to talk to their friend for a moment and that when she was turning back to look at Mark, she saw her daughter climbing into the driver's seat. Elizabeth immediately screamed for her daughter to get down, and Elizabeth ran around to the driver's side of the van.

Elizabeth testified that as she approached the side of the van, she saw her daughter with her left hand on the steering wheel and her right hand on the gearshift. According to Elizabeth, her daughter's legs were tucked underneath her and she was on her knees. Before getting to the driver's side, Elizabeth heard a "clunk," and then the van started rolling backward. Elizabeth explained that her daughter grabbed the gearshift to pull herself up to come to Elizabeth, but that Elizabeth shoved her back into the van to make sure she would not fall out as the van rolled backward.

As the van rolled backward, Elizabeth was hit by the door and her right foot got caught under the van's tire. The force caused her to fall backward onto the pavement and hit her head. According to Elizabeth, the left front tire rolled over her right foot and thigh. The tire missed her shoulder, but her shirt was pinned under the tire.

Once the van started to roll, Mark turned and saw his daughter in the front seat. Mark entered the van through the open back doors, pushed open the separator cage, and "dove for the brake pedal with [his] hand." The van stopped rolling at that point. Mark testified that he noticed his daughter was in the front seat after he realized the van was moving and that she was on the seat either on her knees or standing. Mark also testified that he did not know which gear the van was in as it rolled over Elizabeth but that he knew the gearshift was not "aligned with the P." After stopping the van, Mark moved the van to release Elizabeth's shirt. Elizabeth was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

The deputy sheriff's report regarding the accident states: "VEHICLE 1 WAS DISCOVERED TO HAVE A DEFETIVE SHIFT LEVER THAT WAS ABLE TO BE SHIFTED OUT OF PARK MODE WITHOUT DEPRESSING BRAKE PEDAL." The report does not explain or provide any details as to whether the key was in the ignition or how the defective gearshift was discovered.

Donald Jeffers, an automotive engineering consultant and the Wilkes' expert witness, conducted an investigation of the accident and prepared a report on his findings. In making his findings, Jeffers examined the State of Nebraska investigator's motor vehicle accident report, *376 color prints of photographs of the accident scene, transcripts of depositions and telephone interviews, Ford engineering drawings and shop manuals, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and Elizabeth's medical report.

In his report, Jeffers summarized parts of the telephone interview transcripts. According to Jeffers' report, the police officer who responded to the call to the 911 emergency dispatch service testified in his telephone interview that "`[he] got in the driver's side and moved the shift lever, which shouldn't have moved, and it went into neutral and drive out of park without stepping on the brake pedal.'" According to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards relied upon by Jeffers, vehicles which have an automatic transmission with a "park" position must "`prevent removal of the key unless the transmission or transmission shift lever is locked in "park" as the direct result of removing the key.'" The purpose of this feature is "`to reduce the incidence of crashes resulting from the rollaway of parked vehicles with automatic transmissions as a result of children moving the shift mechanism out of the "park" position.'"

After the accident, Elizabeth's father took the van to Woodhouse for the first of two repairs. The record does not contain a repair order regarding the first repair. However, it appears as though Woodhouse adjusted the linkage on the gearshift because it was not going into park completely.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
774 N.W.2d 370, 278 Neb. 800, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilke-v-woodhouse-ford-inc-neb-2009.