Summary
In Campbell v. Cutler Hammer, Inc., 996 F.2d 1164 (11th Cir. 1993), a question has been certified from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and accepted by the Alabama Supreme Court regarding the interpretation of Dennis. As of the date of this opinion, the certified question has not been answered.
Summary of this case from Gibson v. Norfolk Southern Corp.Opinion
No. 92-6696.
August 4, 1993.
Gary L. Aldridge, Kevin J. Hawkins, Aldridge Hawkins, Birmingham, AL, Jack Drake, Tuscaloosa, AL, for appellant.
R. Benjamine Reid, Wendy F. Lumish, Miami, FL, for appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
CERTIFICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT TO THE SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA PURSUANT TO RULE 18 OF THE ALABAMA RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE.
TO THE SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA AND ITS HONORABLE JUSTICES.
In this appeal from a judgment entered by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, appellant argues that contributory negligence in causing an accident no longer serves as a bar to recovery in any Alabama Manufacturer's Extended Liability Doctrine case. We find that the dispositive question of law in this case remains open, and, therefore, certify to the Supreme Court of Alabama the question governing this case.
In the process of updating its facilities, Champion Paper Company installed motor control centers manufactured by Eaton Corporation. A motor control center is a piece of equipment that receives electricity from the outside and serves as a power source for the plant. Each motor control center is made up of a series of motor control units of varying sizes. Each motor control unit contains several starters.
During installation, a number of doors to the starters in the motor control centers became loose or came off. Most sizes of the starters were guarded by a line shield to protect workers from electric shock. However, size 3 and 4 starters were unguarded. James Campbell, who had experience with motor control centers, was tightening a loose door on a size 4 starter. Campbell's ratchet came in contact with an unguarded bus bar of the starter causing an explosion and severely injuring him. While the power to the particular unit was turned off, Campbell knew that the main breaker to the motor control center remained on. Further, Campbell did not use insulated tools to tighten the door.
Campbell brought suit against Eaton and Champion in state court on the basis of the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine ("AEMLD"). The action was subsequently removed to federal district court. At the jury trial, the district judge gave an instruction on the issue of contributory negligence. In response to special interrogatories, the jury found that a proximate cause of the accident was the motor control unit's being, by reason of the absence of a line shield or no warning, unreasonably dangerous for its expected uses. The jury also found that a proximate cause of the accident was the plaintiff's failure to use reasonable care to avoid injury to himself. The district judge, concluding that the finding of contributory negligence barred Campbell from recovery as a matter of law, declined to enter the $600,000 verdict the jury found as damages.
Copies of the Special Verdict and the district court's opinion are attached as Appendix A and Appendix B to this opinion.
The parties agree that the defense of contributory negligence is a complete defense to an ordinary negligence claim in Alabama. Knight v. Alabama Power Co., 580 So.2d 576 (Ala. 1991). The question is whether it is a defense to this products liability claim under Alabama state law. The argument focuses on the holding in Dennis v. American Honda Co., Inc., 585 So.2d 1336 (Ala. 1991).
In Dennis, Autrey Dennis was severely injured when his motorcycle collided with a truck. Dennis' injuries were compounded by a defective helmet he was wearing at the time of the accident, manufactured by American Honda Motor Company, Inc. Dennis was contributorily negligent in causing the accident but not in the use of the defective helmet. Reasoning that a manufacturer who places an unreasonably dangerous or defective product in the market should pay the consequences of its actions, the Alabama Supreme Court stated that, "contributory negligence relating to accident causation will not bar recovery in an AEMLD action." Dennis, 585 So.2d at 1342.
Note that the Dennis court suggested that the defenses of product misuse and assumption of the risk would remain available to the defendant. These defenses appear to be unrelated to the defense of contributory negligence. See Alabama Pattern Jury Instruction, Jury Charge 32.19.1.
While plaintiff points to the language of the Dennis opinion that states that contributory negligence related to accident causation would not bar recovery, Eaton argues that the defense of contributory negligence remains available because Campbell's alleged negligence was in his use of the product rather than negligence unrelated to the defective product as in Dennis.
Nothing about the helmet in Dennis had anything to do with the motorcycle accident to which the plaintiff's negligence contributed. In his concurring opinion in Savage Industries, Inc. v. Duke, 598 So.2d 856, 860 (Ala. 1992), Justice Houston stated that while Dennis' negligence in causing the motorcycle accident did not bar recovery against the manufacturer of the helmet, negligence in use of the helmet would have barred recovery. Because Justice Houston's comments were in a concurrence rather than the holding of the court, Campbell argues they cannot be taken to be the law of Alabama. Further, it is unclear whether the opinion was referring to the defense of contributory negligence or the defense of product misuse. Since no Alabama decision is directly on point, we conclude that the dispositive question of law presented by this case remains open. The question presented is an important one meriting certification. Accordingly, we respectfully certify the following question of law to the Alabama Supreme Court:
DOES CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE BAR RECOVERY IN AN ALABAMA EXTENDED MANUFACTURER'S LIABILITY DOCTRINE CASE IF A PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT WAS THE UNREASONABLY DANGEROUS CONDITION OF THE PRODUCT, BUT A CONTRIBUTING PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PLAINTIFF'S FAILURE TO USE REASONABLE CARE TO AVOID INJURY TO HIMSELF?
Our particular phrasing of this question is not intended to limit the Supreme Court's inquiry. The Court is at liberty to consider the problems and issues involved in this case as it perceives them to be. In order to assist the Court, the entire record in this case and copies of the briefs of the parties are transmitted herewith.
QUESTION CERTIFIED.