Johnson v. Chrysler Corp.
Johnson v. Chrysler Corp.
Opinion of the Court
This is a product liability action.
On April 20, 1970, plaintiffs filed a four-count complaint against defendants. Prior to trial, counts III (strict liability) and IV (fraud and deceit) were dismissed by the trial judge upon motion of defendants. A jury trial was conducted as to the remaining counts. At the close of plaintiffs’ proofs the trial judge granted defendants’ motions for directed verdicts. Plaintiffs appeal as of right, challenging the dismissal of the strict liability count and the granting of directed verdicts as to the remaining counts.
We find no error in the dismissal of the strict liability count. In Michigan, two theories of recovery are recognized in product liability cases; negligence and implied warranty. Strict liability has not been recognized as a third theory of recovery. If anything, the proofs that would be presented under a strict liability theory in a product case would overlap with the proofs that would be presented under an implied warranty theory. The addition of the third count adds only confusion, not substance. Dooms v Stewart Bolling & Co, 68 Mich App 5; 241 NW2d 738 (1976), Williams v The Detroit Edison Co, 63 Mich App 559; 234 NW2d 702 (1975), lv den, 395 Mich 800 (1975), Rutherford
We affirm the trial court’s granting of a directed verdict in favor of defendant Chrysler, but reverse as to defendant Goldman. In reviewing the trial court in this situation, we have considered the proofs, as always, in a light most favorable to plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs proceeded against defendant Chrysler as owner of the dies, on two theories: negligent entrustment and breach of implied warranty. In support of their negligent entrustment theory, plaintiffs direct us to Fredericks v General Motors Corp, 48 Mich App 580; 211 NW2d 44 (1973), lv den, 390 Mich 805 (1973). In Fredericks, a panel of our Court reversed the trial court’s granting of a summary judgment motion and held that the plaintiff should be allowed to present proofs to show that the defendant knew that the die would be used in a negligent manner. In the present case, plaintiffs were allowed to present proofs. We have reviewed the transcript, and find no evidence that Chrysler knew or should have known of any unsafe practices or conditions at the Holland plant. Likewise, we find no evidence in the record to support recovery against Chrysler under an implied warranty theory. Chrysler had nothing to do with the design, manufacture, installation or maintenance of the dies in the instant case. In fact, Chrysler actually purchased the dies from Holland after approval of the parts produced from the dies. Ownership by Chrysler was obtained merely for the purpose of avoiding work stoppages possibly encountered by the parts suppliers. We are aware of no warranty theory which would extend liability to Chrysler as purchaser of the dies.
It is well settled, and we therefore cite no authority, that a prima facie product liability case consists of proof, 1) that the defendant has supplied a defective product, and 2) that this defect has caused injury to the plaintiff.
We find that in this case sufficient proof was presented by plaintiffs to support a product liability action against defendant Goldman and thus it was error for the trial judge to grant Goldman’s motion for a directed verdict.
Basically, plaintiffs’ claim is that the power press supplied by defendant Goldman was defective in that it was not equipped with adequate safety devices and that the failure to so provide was the cause of plaintiff Marie Johnson’s injury.
The failure to provide or the inadequacy of safety devices has been recognized as a defect in the design of the product, the sale of which may thus support a breach of a warranty claim. Pippen v Denison Division of Abex Corp, 66 Mich App
Although reasonableness standards, i.e., negligence-type analysis, are utilized in determining whether the failure to provide more effective safety equipment amounts to a defect, this analysis does not take the action out of a breach of warranty theory. See Smith v E R Squibb & Sons, Inc, 69 Mich App 375; 245 NW2d 52 (1976), Casey v Gilford Wood Co, 61 Mich App 208; 232 NW2d 360 (1975), lv den, 395 Mich 810 (1975), Farr v Wheeler Manufacturing Corp, 24 Mich App 379; 180 NW2d 311 (1970), lv den, 385 Mich 773 (1971).
After a thorough review of the record, we find that plaintiffs presented evidence, which, if believed by the jury, could constitute a prima facie case of a design defect in the power press and that this defect could have caused the alleged injury. Accordingly, we reverse the directed verdict as to defendant Goldman and remand for trial.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion. Plaintiffs shall pay costs to defendant Chrysler; defendant Goldman shall pay costs to plaintiffs.
Concurring in Part
(concurring in part; dissenting in part). I concur with the majority in affirming the granting of a directed verdict in favor of defendant Chrysler Corporation, but must respectfully dissent from that part of the majority’s decision which reverses the directed verdict for defendant Harvey Goldman & Company.
The common law implied warranty basis upon
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