Wright v. Harts Machine Servs., Inc.

2016 Ohio 4758
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 30, 2016
DocketF-15-004
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2016 Ohio 4758 (Wright v. Harts Machine Servs., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wright v. Harts Machine Servs., Inc., 2016 Ohio 4758 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

[Cite as Wright v. Harts Machine Servs., Inc., 2016-Ohio-4758.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT FULTON COUNTY

Carl Wright, et al. Court of Appeals No. F-15-004

Appellees Trial Court No. 12CV000314

v.

Harts Machine Services, Inc., et al. DECISION AND JUDGMENT

Appellants Decided: June 30, 2016

*****

Kimberly C. Young and Gary Cowan, for appellees.

Terrance M. Miller and Jared M. Klaus, for appellant.

YARBROUGH, J.

I. Introduction

{¶ 1} Appellant, Harts Machine Services, Inc. (“Harts”), appeals the judgment of

the Fulton County Court of Common Pleas, awarding damages to appellees, Pamela

Worman and Carl Wright, as personal representative and administrator for the estate of

James Worman, in the amount of $2,761,228.15 following a jury trial. A. Facts and Procedural Background

{¶ 2} This action stems from an accident involving James and Pamela Worman

that occurred on May 8, 2011. On that date, James and Pamela were riding their self-

assembled trike eastbound on S.R. 18 near Cecil, Ohio, when the right rear axle shaft

suddenly fractured, causing the right rear tire to separate from the trike. Harts supplied

the axle shaft with the assistance of Michael Jarzembski, who fabricated the axle.

{¶ 3} James, who was driving the trike when the axle shaft snapped, lost control of

the vehicle, and it careened into an adjacent ditch. James and Pamela were ejected from

the trike upon impact. They both sustained life-threatening injuries requiring helicopter

transport to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

{¶ 4} Pamela’s injuries consisted of a fractured tibia, scapula, humerus, lumbar

vertebrae, and both femurs, as well as a collapsed lung and pulmonary insufficiency.

James’s injuries included several thoracic vertebrate fractures, multiple cervical fractures,

spinal cord injury, acute kidney failure, pulmonary insufficiency, paroxysmal ventricular

tachycardia, and pneumonia. Pamela underwent extensive treatment leading to her

eventual partial recovery. Unfortunately, James was unable to make a full recovery, and

he eventually succumbed to his injuries on June 17, 2012.

{¶ 5} As a result of the foregoing, Pamela and Wright, as personal representative

for James’s estate, filed a complaint with the trial court on November 9, 2012, in which

they asserted several product liability claims under the Ohio Products Liability Act

(“OPLA”), sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Ohio Revised Code, against Jarzembski as

2. the manufacturer of the right rear axle shaft and Harts as the supplier of the axle shaft. In

their claims against Jarzembski, appellees alleged that Jarzembski deviated from accepted

industry standards in manufacturing the axle shaft by failing to induction harden and heat

treat it. In their claims against Harts, appellees urged that Harts was negligent in

selecting Jarzembski to manufacture the axle shaft when it should have known that

Jarzembski was “incompetent, incapable and ill-equipped to manufacture that part.”

Further, appellees alleged that Harts negligently misrepresented that it would be

supplying an axle shaft that was manufactured by a “reputable manufacturer.”

{¶ 6} On January 4, 2013, Harts filed its answer in this action, in which it

generally denied the product liability allegations contained in appellees’ complaint.

Further, Harts asserted that it was not a supplier under Ohio’s product liability statutes. It

also alleged that the axle shaft was not defective, and noted that it was not the

manufacturer of the axle shaft in any event.

{¶ 7} Three days later, Harts filed a motion to dismiss under Civ.R. 12(B)(6). In

its motion, Harts argued that it was not a supplier for purposes of product liability claims

under R.C. 2307.71(A)(15)(a) because it was not “in the course of business” of supplying

motorcycle axles. Additionally, Harts contended that it was not a manufacturer under

R.C. 2307.71(A)(9), noting that the complaint also included Jarzembski as a defendant

and specifically alleged that he was the manufacturer of the axle shaft.

{¶ 8} In opposition to Harts motion to dismiss, appellees argued that Harts was a

supplier because it was in the business of selling motor vehicle parts, of which an axle

3. shaft is one. The trial court agreed, finding that “an ‘axle’ comes within the parameter of

the greater class of ‘auto parts.’” Thus, the court determined that Harts could be found to

be a supplier under R.C. 2307.71 and denied the motion to dismiss.

{¶ 9} Discovery commenced, and the matter proceeded through pretrial.

Eventually, on April 1, 2014, Harts and Jarzembski filed a joint motion for summary

judgment. In the motion, Harts and Jarzembski argued that they were entitled to

summary judgment under Ohio’s product liability statutes, because the axle shaft did not

fit the definition of a “product.” Harts and Jarzembski noted that the axle shaft was

merely a duplicate of the prior axle shaft, manufactured at appellees’ request for

appellees’ sole use. Further, Harts and Jarzembski argued that Jarzembski was not a

“manufacturer” and Harts was not a “supplier” under R.C. 2307.71, since neither party

was engaged in the business of selling motorcycle or trike parts. Alternatively, Harts

contended that appellees’ claims against it failed because appellees’ could not prove that

Harts made any express representations regarding the quality, character, or safety of the

product, nor could they establish that Harts was negligent in selecting Jarzembski to

manufacture the axle shaft.

{¶ 10} In opposition to Harts’s and Jarzembski’s motion for summary judgment,

appellees urged that the axle shaft was a “product” under R.C. 2307.71 because the shaft

was “entirely the creation of Jarzembski, at the behest of Harts.” Moreover, appellees

argued that Jarzembski was a manufacturer because he was in the business of

manufacturing component parts for the automotive industry. While appellees

4. acknowledged that Jarzembski primarily manufactured transmission parts and shafts for

trucks, they asserted that Jarzembski could not escape liability simply because the part he

manufactured in this case was integrated into a trike.1 As to whether Harts was a

supplier, appellees urged that Harts had been in the business of selling auto parts for

decades, and that the axle shaft in this case qualified as an auto part.

{¶ 11} Upon consideration of the foregoing arguments, the trial court issued its

decision on the motion for summary judgment on July 11, 2014. In its decision, the trial

court agreed with Harts and Jarzembski that the axle shaft did not fit the definition of a

product under R.C. 2307.71, because appellees specifically asked Harts to “duplicate” the

shaft. Thus, the trial court found that the axle shaft was a custom item made according to

appellees’ design and according to appellees’ request and not entered into the stream of

commerce. Further, the court concluded that Harts and Jarzembski did not meet the

statutory definitions of “manufacturer” or “supplier” under the OPLA. Accordingly, the

court granted the motion for summary judgment, thereby disposing of appellees’ product

liability claims. However, in its entry, the court noted that “[a]ll other matters are

continued for further proceedings, and for trial.” In a later entry clarifying its order, the

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