Rains v. Stayton Builders Mart, Inc.
Rains v. Stayton Builders Mart, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
*338*675On remand from the Supreme Court, we are tasked with reconsidering whether, in light of Horton v. OHSU ,
The relevant facts on remand are undisputed. Plaintiff Kevin Rains fell almost 16 feet to the ground when a defective wood board broke at his job site. He suffered severe injuries that resulted in paraplegia. He brought a claim of strict products liability against the retailer, Stayton Builders Mart, and the manufacturer of the defective board, Weyerhaeuser Company. His wife, plaintiff Mitzi Rains, brought a claim for loss of consortium against those same parties. The jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiffs and found that Kevin had suffered $5,237,700 in economic damages and $3,125,000 in noneconomic damages, and that Mitzi had suffered $1,012,500 in noneconomic damages. The jury also found that Weyerhaeuser was 45 percent at fault, Stayton was 30 percent at fault, and Kevin was 25 percent at fault for his injuries. After trial, Weyerhaeuser moved to reduce each of plaintiffs' noneconomic damages awards to $500,000 based on ORS 31.710(1). The trial court denied that motion, concluding that Article I, section 17, of the Oregon Constitution precluded ORS 31.710(1) from limiting noneconomic damages on plaintiffs' claims. Accordingly, the court, after accounting for Oregon's comparative-fault scheme and the jury's finding that Kevin was 25 percent at fault, entered a limited judgment awarding Kevin *676$6,272,025 and Mitzi $759,375 against Weyerhaeuser and Stayton.
In Horton , the court also reexamined at length whether the remedy clause of Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution
*340See Vasquez v. Double Press Mfg., Inc. ,
Shortly after Horton , the court issued its opinion on review in this case. Rains v. Stayton Builders Mart, Inc. ,
On remand, we granted the parties permission to file supplemental briefing. In addition, the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) appeared as amicus curiae and filed a brief in support of plaintiffs, and the Oregon Liability Reform Coalition and Associated Oregon Industries *679(collectively AOI) appeared as amicus curiae and filed a joint brief in support of Weyerhaeuser.
Plaintiffs acknowledge on remand that Horton foreclosed any argument that Article I, section 17, prohibited application of ORS 31.710(1) to their damages awards. Instead, plaintiffs ask us to affirm the trial court's limited judgment in their favor because, under Horton , the application of ORS 31.710(1) in this case violates the remedy clause of Article I, section 10. In particular, plaintiffs argue that application of ORS 31.710(1) violates the remedy clause in this case because it would leave them without a substantial remedy. OTLA supports plaintiffs' argument and also asserts that ORS 31.710(1) is facially unconstitutional under the remedy clause because it imposes a "substitute remedy without any regard to the underlying injury" and fails to provide "any benefit in exchange for the remedy it purports to limit"-i.e. , it does not provide a quid pro quo .
Weyerhaeuser argues that plaintiffs' challenge to ORS 31.710(1) under the remedy clause is precluded because they are raising it for the first time on remand. Alternatively, Weyerhaeuser contends that, even if we consider plaintiffs' alternative basis for affirmance, ORS 31.710(1) does not violate the remedy clause in this case because the statute provides a "substantial remedy" to Kevin, and the remedy clause does not apply to Mitzi's loss of consortium claim because "Oregon law does not recognize a 'property' right to non-pecuniary services, society, and companionship from a spouse."
WAIVER
We begin with the threshold question of whether we are precluded from considering *341plaintiffs' alternative basis for affirmance because they raise it for the first time on remand. Weyerhaeuser asserts that general waiver principles or the "law of the case" doctrine preclude our consideration of plaintiffs' remedy clause argument because plaintiffs failed to raise it as an alternative basis for affirmance in their initial briefing on appeal. Before we address the substance of Weyerhaeuser's arguments, we briefly revisit how the parties litigated the noneconomic damages cap below and on appeal. *680After the jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiffs, Weyerhaeuser moved to reduce the noneconomic damages awarded to plaintiffs to $500,000 based on ORS 31.710(1). Initially, plaintiffs opposed that motion, arguing solely that capping their noneconomic damages would violate Article I, section 17. Later, however, they filed an additional opposition brief that raised the remedy clause in Article I, section 10, and the reexamination clause in Article VII (Amended), section 3, as constitutional impediments to applying the cap. As to the remedy clause, plaintiffs asserted that, under Smothers , a statute could not deny a party a remedy that existed in 1857, and any statute that failed to provide a plaintiff with an adequate substitute remedy violated the constitution. Plaintiffs noted that all three of the constitutional provisions that they had cited in opposition to Weyerhaeuser's motion required an analysis of the historical origins of their causes of action. In plaintiffs' view, the common law recognized causes of action for products liability and loss of consortium, so all three constitutional provisions prohibited application of ORS 31.710(1). The trial court never reached plaintiffs' remedy clause arguments because it denied Weyerhaeuser's motion on the basis of Article I, section 17. After the limited judgment was entered, Weyerhaeuser appealed, assigning error to the trial court's ruling. On appeal, the parties argued about the historical origins of plaintiffs' claims, albeit in the context of Article I, section 17. Plaintiffs did not renew their remedy clause arguments as an alternative basis for affirmance.
With that background in mind, we turn to Weyerhaeuser's argument that the law of the case doctrine precludes our consideration of plaintiffs' remedy clause challenge, and conclude that the doctrine does not apply in this circumstance. The law of the case doctrine establishes that
" 'when a ruling or decision has been once made in a particular case by an appellate court, while it may be overruled in other cases, it is binding and conclusive both upon the inferior court in any further steps or proceedings in the same litigation and upon the appellate court itself in any subsequent appeal or other proceeding for review.' "
*681Kennedy v. Wheeler ,
Weyerhaeuser's argument based on the "waiver rule" is equally unavailing. Weyerhaeuser maintains that plaintiffs waived their remedy clause argument because they failed to raise it as an alternative basis for affirmance in their original briefing on appeal. Weyerhaeuser relies on several federal circuit court cases as establishing a "waiver rule" that bars litigation of issues that a party could have raised in an earlier appeal in the case. See, e.g. , Medical Center Pharmacy v. Holder ,
Similarly here, the reasons for the waiver rule identified in Kentner and the federal cases cited by Weyerhaeuser are not in play. It is significant that, in the interim between plaintiffs' initial briefing as respondents on appeal and their supplemental briefing on remand, Horton significantly altered the legal analysis required to determine the constitutionality of statutory damages caps. As we have noted, at the time of Weyerhaeuser's appeal, arguments related to Article I, section 17, and Article I, section 10, both required an analysis of the historical origins of the claims at issue. Accordingly, even if plaintiffs had asserted the remedy clause as an alternative basis to affirm the trial court's ruling, our analysis of that issue would have required us to look at the historical origins of plaintiffs' claims-just as we did in evaluating the parties' arguments under Article I, section 17. Further, it is worth noting that, because Smothers had held that the remedy clause provided no protection for injuries for which no cause of action had existed in 1857, plaintiffs did not have an incentive to raise the remedy clause as an alternative basis for affirmance because, in essence, if their argument failed under Article I, section 17, it was likely to fail under Article I, section 10. Accordingly, we do not consider plaintiffs' attempts to defend the trial court's ruling based on the changed legal landscape as "seeking a piecemeal appeal" nor is their alternative basis for affirmance a *683"shift in position" that undermines judicial efficiency. Here, the unique circumstances of the litigation and the significant change of law in between the initial appeal and remand convinces us that consideration of plaintiffs' remedy clause argument is consistent with judicial efficiency and does not run afoul of the waiver rule.
Because Weyerhaeuser's waiver and law of the case arguments fail, we next consider plaintiffs' remedy clause arguments as an alternative basis to affirm. See State v. Lovaina-Burmudez ,
REMEDY CLAUSE
Before we evaluate whether the remedy clause of Article I, section 10, prohibits application of ORS 31.710(1) to plaintiffs' noneconomic damages awards, we must decide a *343threshold issue raised by Weyerhaeuser with respect to Mitzi's loss of consortium claim. The remedy clause provides, in part, that "every man shall have remedy by due course of law for injury done him in his person, property, or reputation ." Or. Const., Art. I, § 10 (emphasis added). Weyerhaeuser asserts that Mitzi's claim is not protected by that clause because a loss of consortium claim does not involve an injury to her "person, property, or reputation." In arguing that point, Weyerhaeuser classifies Mitzi's claim as a claim for a "property right" to nonpecuniary "services, society, and companionship." In Weyerhaeuser's view, the Supreme Court concluded in Juarez v. Windsor Rock Products, Inc. ,
AOI expands on Weyerhaeuser's argument, contending that a contemporary claim for spousal loss of consortium *684seeks compensation for injury to a "relational interest" not a property interest. AOI argues that Juarez classified aspects of the plaintiffs' claims as "relational interests" that are "not a loss of any property interest for which Article I, section 10, guarantees a remedy." Accordingly, AOI concludes that the only damages to Mitzi that are limited by ORS 31.710(1) compensate for the loss of aspects of her relationship with Kevin and, because those "relational interests" are not "property interests," they are not protected by the remedy clause.
Mitzi counters that Juarez is not controlling because it was narrowly decided on the basis of different claims, arguments, and injuries. She also asserts that Weyerhaeuser mischaracterizes the nature of her claim. At the outset, she acknowledges that, historically, a loss of consortium claim was based on the idea that the husband had a "property right" to the domestic services of his wife, which included emotional losses such as love, affection, companionship, and sexual relations. However, she contends that her spousal loss of consortium claim seeks recovery for "emotional harms" that are regarded as an injury to the person under the contemporary understanding of such claims.
We begin with Juarez . The plaintiffs in that case were the mother and adult children of a man, Juarez, who had died in an accident at work.
Applying the methodology from Smothers , the court first examined whether the plaintiffs had alleged an injury to one of the rights protected by Article I, section 10. The court noted that the plaintiffs' complaint alleged "economic *685injury in terms of a loss of 'services and financial assistance.' "
The court stated that "[i]t is clear that plaintiffs have not alleged an injury to their persons or reputations."
The court then moved on to an issue that it determined "requires more discussion"-i.e. , "[w]hether plaintiffs allege an injury to property."
Against that backdrop, the court evaluated the plaintiffs' allegations, concluding that the plaintiffs
"do not allege that they possess any property right that defendant's conduct has infringed. For example, plaintiffs do not allege that they were dependent on decedent for his services or financial assistance, that decedent had any legal obligation to provide such support, or that they had any other legal interest in his income. Neither do plaintiffs *686allege that they were legally entitled to decedent's services or the value of his services. Instead, plaintiffs allege the loss of aspects of their relationship with decedent. We do not doubt the importance of that loss to plaintiffs, but it is not a loss of any property interest for which Article I, section 10, guarantees a remedy."
We make several observations about Juarez . First, Juarez purported to apply the methodology set out in Smothers , and Horton explicitly overruled Smothers.
Second, Juarez involved significantly different circumstances than the instant case. For example, the claims in that case were brought by the parent and adult children of the decedent, whereas here, the claim at issue seeks spousal loss of consortium. Moreover, Juarez involved arguments about the validity of a "common-law" wrongful death action, the overlay of the workers' compensation exclusive remedy provision, and was reviewed by the Supreme Court based solely on the allegations in the complaint because it involved a dismissal under ORCP 21 A.
Third, it appears that the court's brief discussion of whether the plaintiffs had alleged an injury to their "own lives, limbs, bodies, or reputations" was limited to the narrow facts of that case. That is to say, given the context of the discussion, we do not understand Juarez to stand for the broad proposition that any claim for "loss of society, companionship, guidance, and emotional support" necessarily does not allege an "injury to person." Rather, the court took the limited view, without explanation, that the adult children and parent of the decedent in that case had not alleged an injury to their "bodies." In fact, the court emphasized the limited nature of its holding, emphasizing that, "[w]e must decide whether these plaintiffs have alleged a claim that the remedy clause * * * protects."
Fourth, we are of the view that the court's discussion of the plaintiffs' failure to allege an injury to "property"
*687focused on the aspects of the plaintiffs' allegations that related to the "loss of services and financial assistance"-i.e. , economic damages. It appears important to the court's ultimate conclusion that the plaintiffs' complaint fell short of alleging "that they possess any property right that defendant's conduct has infringed" such as a "legal interest" in the decedent's income, his services, or financial assistance.
To the contrary, we agree with Mitzi that, whatever the historical origins of a loss of consortium claim, in modern parlance Mitzi's claim alleges an injury to person that is protected by the remedy clause. Without going into great detail about the historical development of spousal loss of consortium claims, we note that, beginning in the mid-twentieth century, courts began to recognize that the nature of loss of consortium had changed from being primarily an economic injury to being primarily an emotional injury. Jo-Anne M. Baio, Loss of Consortium: A Derivative Injury Giving Rise to a Separate Cause of Action ,
Finally, we consider plaintiffs' argument that reducing their noneconomic damages awards under ORS 31.710(1) is unconstitutional under the remedy clause. We begin with a brief overview of Horton , as well as our recent decision in Vasquez , which applied Horton to ORS 31.710(1).
In Horton , the court identified three general categories of legislation that it had considered in determining the limits that the remedy clause places on the legislature:
"(1) legislation that did not alter the common-law duty but denies or limits the remedy a person injured as a result of that breach of duty may recover; (2) legislation that sought to adjust a person's rights and remedies as part of a larger statutory scheme that extends benefits to some while limiting benefits to others (a quid pro quo ); (3) legislation that modified common-law duties or eliminated a common-law cause of action when the premises underlying those duties and causes of action have changed."
Schutz , 288 Or.App. at 486,
At this point, we turn to our recent decision in Vasquez because it guides our analysis in this case and answers some of the arguments advanced by the parties. In *689Vasquez , we concluded that ORS 31.710(1) falls within the first category of cases identified by the Supreme Court in Horton . 288 Or.App. at 521,
With that background in mind, we turn to plaintiffs' "as applied" challenge to ORS 31.710(1), which requires us to answer whether the statutorily substituted remedy of $500,000 is "substantial" as required by Article I, section 10.
In Horton , the Supreme Court stated that "[w]hen the legislature does not limit the duty that a defendant owes a plaintiff but does limit the size or nature of the remedy, the legislative remedy need not restore all the damages that the plaintiff sustained to pass constitutional muster, *** but a remedy that is only a paltry fraction of the damages that the plaintiff sustained will unlikely be sufficient." 359 Or. at 220-21,
*690Vasquez is instructive to our inquiry. In Vasquez , the plaintiff was grievously injured when a bale-cutting machine "essentially cut plaintiff in half at the base of his spine, leaving him permanently paraplegic." 288 Or.App. at 525,
In analyzing whether application of the cap left the plaintiff with a substantial remedy under Article I, section 10, we noted that under the common-law model, the plaintiff would have been entitled to recover his noneconomic damages, not subject to any cap. Id. at 524-25,
"legislature has departed fairly dramatically from that model by placing a hard cap on the amount of noneconomic damages a plaintiff may recover-a cap that was placed in 1987 and has not since been revisited-with no mechanism for adjustment for the changing value of money or for adjustment based on the relative severity of the injuries sustained by a plaintiff."
Id . at 525,
Considering that the plaintiff had been grievously injured, and that he would receive $1,839,090 out of the $6,199,090 in total damages, and $500,000 out of $4,860,000 in noneconomic damages, we concluded that "
*347ORS 31.710(1) would leave plaintiff with a remedy that is only a 'paltry *691fraction' of the damages that he sustained and would otherwise recover." Id. at 525-26,
We take the same approach here. Consistently with Vasquez , we conclude that, given the nature of plaintiffs' injuries, the lack of any quid pro quo in ORS 31.710(1), and our conclusion that "the legislature's reason for enacting the noneconomic damages cap *** cannot bear the weight of the dramatic reduction in noneconomic damages that the statute requires for the most grievously injured plaintiffs," reducing plaintiffs' noneconomic damages awards to $500,000 would leave them without a "substantial" remedy as required by Article I, section 10. See Vasquez , 288 Or.App. at 525,
In this case, the cap in ORS 31.710(1) would leave Kevin, who is a paraplegic because of his injuries, with $500,000 of the $2,343,750 in noneconomic damages that the jury awarded him-representing a $1,843,750 reduction in his award. For the same reasons elucidated in Vasquez , application of ORS 31.710(1) to Kevin's damages award violates the remedy clause in Article I, section 10.
Further, with respect to Mitzi, reducing her award by $259,375 is a "bare reduction in [her] noneconomic damages without any identifiable statutory quid pro quo or constitutional principle that the cap takes into consideration." Vasquez , 288 Or.App. at 526,
Plaintiffs' limited judgment affirmed; Stayton Builders Mart's limited judgment reversed; general judgment reversed.
ORS 31.710(1) provides that, with exceptions not relevant here, the amount awarded for noneconomic damages "shall not exceed $500,000" in "any civil action seeking damages arising out of bodily injury, including emotional injury or distress, death or property damage of any one person including claims for loss of care, comfort, companionship and society and loss of consortium."
In the underlying litigation, the trial court also entered a limited judgment in favor of Stayton based on Stayton's third-party common-law indemnity claim against Weyerhaeuser. Subsequently, the court entered a general judgment against Weyerhaeuser awarding Stayton its defense costs of $265,458.70. Weyerhaeuser appealed both limited judgments and the general judgment. On appeal, we generally rejected Weyerhaeuser's assignments of error aimed at plaintiffs' limited judgment. However, for reasons noted later in this opinion, we reversed and remanded plaintiffs' limited judgment for the application of ORS 31.710(1) to Kevin's damages award. We also reversed Stayton's limited judgment based on its common-law indemnity claim. Finally, we reversed and remanded the general judgment with instructions to reduce the judgment by $1,512. On review, in addition to remanding the case to us to reconsider the application of ORS 31.710(1) to plaintiffs' damages awards, the Supreme Court concluded that ORS 20.220(3) required the general judgment to be reversed because we had reversed the underlying limited judgment for common-law indemnity. Rains v. Stayton Builders Mart, Inc. ,
In particular, the Horton court concluded that Article I, section 17, "does not independently restrict the legislature's ability to impose a statutory damage cap on specific claims." Rains , 359 Or. at 639,
Article I, section 10, provides:
"No court shall be secret, but justice shall be administered, openly and without purchase, completely and without delay, and every man shall have remedy by due course of law for injury done him in his person, property, or reputation."
Because the purposes behind the federally recognized waiver rule are not present here, we need not decide what, if any, force the waiver rule adopted by the federal courts has in Oregon's state courts.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Kevin RAINS and Mitzi Rains, Plaintiffs-Respondents v. STAYTON BUILDERS MART, INC. John Doe Lumber Supplier John Doe Lumber Mill and Five Star Construction, Inc., Stayton Builders Mart, Inc., Third-Party Plaintiff-Respondent v. RSG Forest Products, Inc., Third-Party and Weyerhaeuser Company, Third-Party Weyerhaeuser Company, Fourth-Party v. Rodriguez & Rains Construction, an Oregon corporation, Fourth-Party Withers Lumber Company, Fourth-Party v. Sellwood Lumber Co., Inc., an Oregon corporation and Weyerhaeuser Company, Fourth-Party Western International Forest Products, Inc., Fourth-Party v. Benito Rodriguez, Kevin Rains, and Rodriguez & Rains Construction, Fourth-Party Sellwood Lumber Co., Inc., an Oregon corporation, Fifth-Party v. Swanson Bros. Lumber Co., Inc., an Oregon corporation, Fifth-Party
- Cited By
- 9 cases
- Status
- Published