Cleveland ex rel. Cleveland v. Piper Aircraft Corp.
070rehearing
ORDER ON PETITION FOR REHEARING
Appellant and cross-appellee Edward Charles Cleveland has filed a petition for rehearing and a suggestion for rehearing en banc. Cross-appellee has filed a bill of costs. Appellee and cross-appellant Piper Aircraft Corporation has filed an objection to the bill of costs and has filed a motion for leave to file its own bill of costs.
In his combined reply and cross-appeal answer brief on appeal, appellant and
Section 1 D of 1987 New Mexico Laws ch. 141, codified at N.M.Stat.Ann. § 41-3A-1(D) (Repl.Pamp. 1989), is applicable only to eases filed after July 1, 1987, which does not include this case. Appellant and cross-appellee cites no authority for his assertion that this section merely clarifies existing New Mexico law and the Court does not agree that that is the case. In any event the jury in this case implicitly found that Plaintiff Edward Charles Cleveland suffered no distinct injuries or harm solely as a result of the original tort-feasors’ negligence, see Question No. 5 of the special verdict, and the evidence was uncontroverted that Plaintiff would have suffered no injuries as a result of the collision, absent crashworthiness negligence see 890 F.2d at 1557, but suffered only one harm for which, under New Mexico law of proximate cause, which this section was not intended to change, see N.M.Stat.Ann. § 41-3A-1(G) (Repl.Pamp. 1989), both the original and crashworthiness tortfeasors may be legally responsible, requiring a comparison of their negligence inter se.
The suggestion for rehearing en banc is also denied pursuant to F.R.App.P. 35(a) & (b).
Cross-appellee’s bill of costs is denied and appellee and cross-appellant’s motion for leave to file its bill of costs is denied, the judgment of the trial court having been vacated and neither party having completely prevailed in the cross-appeals. See F.R. App.P. 39(a).
. On appeal, appellant urged that the district court erred in entering judgment on the "design negligence claim” rather than on the "crashwor-thiness design negligence claim.” In the petition for rehearing, appellant and cross-appellee urges, inter alia, that this Court affirm the judgment on the "design negligence claim,” or direct that judgment be entered on that claim in the amount of $1,666,250.00 by adding the percentages of comparative negligence attributed to Piper Aircraft Corporation on both the “design negligence” and "crashworthiness design negligence" claims, see Questions 7A & 7B of special verdict, dividing by two and multiplying that percent times the total amount of plaintiffs damages found by the jury in Question No. 6.
Since the jury found that 100% of Plaintiffs injuries were attributable to crashworthiness, in effect appellant cross-appellee seeks affirmance of the judgment based upon a comparison of the negligence of the original tortfeasors, only, as if that constituted a comparison of their negligence to that of crashworthiness tortfeasors on the crashworthiness design negligence claim. This necessarily assumes that there were no other crashworthiness tortfeasors than those included in the special verdict form, see Question No. 7A, as original tortfeasors. Recognizing that comparing the negligence of those who caused or contributed in causing the accident, even if they are or include the same persons or entities whose negligence caused or contributed to causing crashworthiness injuries, may not be the same as comparing the negligence of all persons or entitles who caused or contributed in causing the crashworthiness injuries, either because they were original tortfeasors or crash-worthiness tortfeasors, appellant and cross-ap-pellee then urges an “add and divide formula” to attempt to approximate a comparison of the negligence of both original and crashworthiness tortfeasors in causing Plaintiffs crashworthiness injuries which the jury never made. Moreover, again the appellant and cross-appellee ignores that fact that there were other potential crashworthiness tortfeasors whose comparative negligence this "formula” does not account for.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Edward Charles CLEVELAND, By and Through the Conservator of his Estate, Kathleen CLEVELAND and Kathleen Cleveland, Individually, and v. PIPER AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, a corporation, and
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published