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Michael Voelkel v. General Motors Corporation, 43 F.3d 1484, 10th Cir. (1994)
Michael Voelkel v. General Motors Corporation, 43 F.3d 1484, 10th Cir. (1994)
3d 1484
NOTICE: Although citation of unpublished opinions remains unfavored,
unpublished opinions may now be cited if the opinion has persuasive value on a
material issue, and a copy is attached to the citing document or, if cited in oral
argument, copies are furnished to the Court and all parties. See General Order of
November 29, 1993, suspending 10th Cir. Rule 36.3 until December 31, 1995, or
further order.
Before BRORBY and EBEL, Circuit Judges, and SAM, ** District Judge.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination
of this appeal. See Fed.R.App.P. 34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Plaintiff appeals the district court's entry of summary judgment for defendant
on his claims that the injuries he suffered when his automobile collided with a
tree were enhanced due to a defective seat belt manufactured by defendant. We
have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1291, and we affirm.
On July 25, 1990, plaintiff was injured when his 1984 Pontiac Firebird
automobile collided with a tree on a United States military reservation, Fort
Riley, Kansas. Plaintiff claims the seat belt was defective, failing to restrain
him during the impact. He alleges the following defects in the driver's seat belt:
(1) the buckle did not latch securely, permitting the buckle to release during the
accident; (2) the mechanism intended to retract the shoulder belt was designed
and installed improperly, causing the shoulder belt not to restrain plaintiff on
impact; and (3) the shoulder belt was too long, thus providing no protection
when the retractor failed. The district court concluded that plaintiff could
produce no evidence to establish that any defects in the seat belt buckle
contributed to his injuries, or that the shoulder belt was defective.
5
"One of the principal purposes of the summary judgment rule is to isolate and
dispose of factually unsupported claims...." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S.
317, 323-24 (1986). To withstand summary judgment, the nonmoving party
must establish more than the "mere existence of some alleged factual dispute;"
a showing of a genuine issue of material fact is required. Anderson v. Liberty
Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48 (1986). There is no issue for trial based on a
"mere scintilla" of evidence, id. at 252, on evidence that is "merely colorable,"
id. at 249-50, or on factual disputes that are irrelevant or unnecessary, id. at
248.
On appeal, plaintiff argues that the district court erred by holding that plaintiff
must establish a specific defect in the product that caused his injuries. Plaintiff
maintains he can prevail on his strict liability, negligence, and implied warranty
theories by proving a nonspecific defect or that the seat belt malfunctioned. He
contends his expert established that the seat belt was defective through his
opinion that the seat belt was too long, the retractor was made and installed
improperly, and the seat belt buckle was defective.
It is not enough that a product was defective and plaintiff was injured; there
must be a causal connection between the defect and the injury. See Wilcheck v.
Doonan Truck & Equip., Inc., 552 P.2d 938, 943 (Kan.1976)("The mere fact
that a person suffered injury while using a product is insufficient in itself to
satisfy the requirement of proof that a defect in the product was a proximate
cause of the injury.").
10
Here, although plaintiff's expert testified that the seat belt buckle was defective,
he could not state to a reasonable degree of engineering certainty that the
defects in the buckle caused or contributed to plaintiff's injuries. Plaintiff's own
testimony that on prior occasions the buckle did not always latch properly
cannot establish liability. Any causal connection is too speculative, particularly
in view of plaintiff's expert's opinion that he could not conclude that the buckle
caused or enhanced plaintiff's injuries. "[L]iability in a products liability action
cannot be based on mere speculation, guess or conjecture." Mays v. Ciba-Geigy
Corp., 661 P.2d 348, 360 (Kan.1983); cf. Orth v. Emerson Elec. Co., 980 F.2d
632, 636 (10th Cir.1992)(circumstantial evidence of product's defect may be
based on expert's opinion).
11
The expert also testified that the driver's seat belt was defective because the
retractor was designed and installed improperly, and the shoulder belt itself was
too long. The expert's opinion was based on the assumption that the position of
the driver's seat belt was the same immediately after the accident as it was
when he examined the car two and one-half years after the accident: fully
extended.2 The uncontroverted evidence presented by the responding police
officer, however, was that the driver's seat belt was fully retracted immediately
following the accident. Because no evidence was adduced to demonstrate a
question of fact about the position of the seat belt immediately following the
accident, the district court properly disregarded the expert's opinion that the
shoulder belt retractor contributed to plaintiff's injuries. Similarly, the
uncontroverted evidence demonstrated that the shoulder belt's excessive length
did not contribute to plaintiff's injuries. The medical evidence established that
plaintiff's injuries were inconsistent with his having been restrained by the lap
belt, but not the shoulder belt, and plaintiff did not present evidence that the lap
belt failed to restrain him or that it was defective.
12
Therefore, we conclude the district court properly held that plaintiff failed to
demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact that the seat belt buckle's defects
caused his injuries, or that the seat belt itself was defective. Thus, contrary to
his argument on appeal, plaintiff was not required to demonstrate a specific
defect; rather, he was required to show that any defect caused or contributed to
his injuries. Accordingly, because plaintiff did not establish that he was injured
14
15
As for the merits of plaintiff's express warranty claim, we have considered the
language in the sales manual, as did the district court, and we hold that an
express warranty was not created because plaintiff has not shown that any
statement in the sales manual became "part of the basis of the bargain" for his
purchase of the automobile. Kan. Stat. Ann. 84-2-313(1)(a) (1983).
Furthermore, plaintiff points to no language in the alleged warranty that relates
specifically to seat belts. Finally, plaintiff's inability to show that seat belt
failure caused his injuries is a further impediment to his warranty claim.
16
The judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas is
AFFIRMED.
**
Honorable David Sam, District Judge, United States District Court for the
District of Utah, sitting by designation
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of
law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court generally
disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order and
judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of the court's General
Order filed November 29, 1993. 151 F.R.D. 470
The automobile had been in a salvage lot between the time of the accident in
July, 1990, and October, 1992. Appellee's Supp.App. at 203. Plaintiff's expert
first examined the automobile and its seat belts on February 11, 1993. Id. at 150