Filed: Apr. 15, 2010
Latest Update: Mar. 24, 2017
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 08-4322 _ RYAN JACOBSON, a minor and by Robert Jacobson and Beverly Jacobson as the parents and natural guardians of Ryan Jacobson, Appellant v. BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC, a corporation; BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AKTIENGESOLLSCHAFT, a corporation Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Civil No. 02-cv-00181) District Judge: Honorable Joy Flowers Conti Submitted Under Thi
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 08-4322 _ RYAN JACOBSON, a minor and by Robert Jacobson and Beverly Jacobson as the parents and natural guardians of Ryan Jacobson, Appellant v. BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC, a corporation; BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AKTIENGESOLLSCHAFT, a corporation Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Civil No. 02-cv-00181) District Judge: Honorable Joy Flowers Conti Submitted Under Thir..
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
_____________
No. 08-4322
_____________
RYAN JACOBSON,
a minor and by Robert Jacobson and Beverly Jacobson
as the parents and natural guardians of Ryan Jacobson,
Appellant
v.
BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC, a corporation;
BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AKTIENGESOLLSCHAFT,
a corporation
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civil No. 02-cv-00181)
District Judge: Honorable Joy Flowers Conti
Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
March 23, 2010
Before: RENDELL, FUENTES and JORDAN, Circuit Judges.
(Filed: April 15, 2010)
OPINION OF THE COURT
RENDELL, Circuit Judge.
Plaintiff Ryan Jacobson appeals from the District Court’s denial of his motion for
a new trial following a jury verdict in favor of defendants Bayerische Motoren Werke
Aktiengesellschaft (“BMW-AG”) and BMW of North America, LLC (“BMW NA”)
(collectively, “BMW”) in a products liability lawsuit arising out of an accident involving
a 1987 BMW 325i, a two-door automatic transmission sport coupe, driven by Robert
Jacobson, Ryan’s father. On appeal, Jacobson argues that the District Court abused its
discretion in denying Jacobson’s motion for a new trial, which challenged the Court’s
prior evidentiary rulings and its jury instructions. Because we conclude that the District
Court did not abuse its discretion, we will affirm the Order and Judgment of the District
Court.
I. Background
The following facts come from the trial transcript, and, except where otherwise
indicated, are undisputed. The vehicle was manufactured by BMW-AG and sold in the
United States by BMW NA. BMW-AG is a German corporation, which, among other
things, manufactures and distributes motor vehicles worldwide. BMW NA, a Delaware
Limited Liability Company registered to do business in Pennsylvania, is a wholly owned
subsidiary of BMW-AG, and distributes, sells, markets, and services motor vehicles in
North America that were manufactured by BMW-AG.
On May 4, 1999, Robert Jacobson drove the BMW 325i to do errands with his two
sons, Ryan and Christopher. Ryan, age 12, was seated in the front passenger seat, and
Christopher, age 9, was seated in the rear passenger seat. Robert Jacobson stopped at
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Sam’s Bar, in Dormont, Pennsylvania, to buy a six-pack of beer for a family cookout, and
parked the car in the bar’s parking lot. He claims that, when he parked the car, he placed
the shift lever into the “Park” position, turned the engine off, set the parking brake, and
removed the keys from the ignition, before exiting the vehicle and entering the bar.1 Ryan
and Christopher remained in the car while their father entered the bar.
The parking lot of the bar is on a slope. While his father was inside the store,
Ryan began playing with the gear shift lever, which was located between the front seats.
While playing, Ryan disengaged the gear shift lever from the “Park” position, shifting it
into either “Reverse” or “Neutral,” and the car began to drift backwards down the slope.
Ryan tried to move the gear shift back into the “Park” position, but was unable to do so.
Ryan and Christopher became scared, and Christopher climbed into the front seat
and exited through the driver’s side window unhurt. Ryan exited through the passenger
side window, but fell to the ground and was struck by the right front part of the car. He
sustained multiple fractures, contusions, and lacerations, as well as injuries to his brain
and left eye. His injuries required several surgeries, including arthroscopic surgery on his
left knee, repairs to his left eye, brain surgery, and plastic surgery. He has also needed
extensive physical therapy, and further surgeries are likely to be necessary. As a result of
1
BMW disputed Robert Jacobson’s claims that he engaged the parking brake and
that he removed the keys from the ignition when exiting the car. It also adduced evidence
from Christopher that Ryan disengaged a safety mechanism and thereby overrode the
car’s safety features. However, this factual dispute is not relevant to the issues on appeal.
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these injuries, his face and skull have been permanently disfigured.
Robert Jacobson filed suit on behalf of his minor son Ryan against BMW in the
Western District of Pennsylvania, alleging that BMW was strictly liable for Ryan’s
injuries because the design of the car was defective. He asserted that BMW should have
equipped the vehicle with either a Brake Shift Interlock (“BSI”), a device which would
have prevented the car from shifting out of “Park” unless the brake pedal was depressed,
or a Park Lock System (“PLS”), a device which would have prevented the gear shift from
moving out of “Park” unless the key was in the ignition and had been turned out of the
“Lock” position (collectively “Lock Systems”). BMW contended that the accident could
not have happened in the way Jacobson urged, and that the car was safe as designed.
The case went to trial, and a jury returned a verdict in favor of BMW. Jacobson
filed a timely motion for a new trial, which was denied by the District Court. Jacobson
then filed this appeal, contending that the District Court erred in denying his motion for a
new trial. In particular, Jacobson argues that four errors warranted a new trial. First, he
claims that the District Court erred in granting a motion in limine by BMW to exclude
evidence of other vehicles that used the Lock Systems, and of product recalls by Nissan
and Jeep to retrofit their cars with Lock Systems. Second, he argues that the District
Court erroneously barred him from presenting evidence of the “feasibility” of the design
changes. Third, Jacobson claims that the District Court gave an erroneous jury instruction
on the definition of “design defect.” Finally, he argues that the District Court erred in
4
admitting evidence of Jacobson’s contributory negligence.
II. Jurisdiction and Standard of Review
The District Court had jurisdiction over this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332,
and we have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
We review a district court’s ruling on a motion for a new trial for abuse of
discretion, recognizing that the decision to grant or deny a new trial is normally within the
discretion of the district court. Blancha v. Raymark Indus., 972 F.2d 507, 512 (3d Cir.
1992); McKenna v. City of Philadelphia,
582 F.3d 447, 460 (3d Cir. 2009). A court’s
latitude in ruling on the motion is especially broad when the grounds asserted in the
motion concern matters that initially rested within the discretion of the district court.
Klein v. Hollings,
992 F.2d 1285, 1289-90 (3d Cir. 1993). Rulings on evidentiary matters
and the content of instructions to the jury are two such discretionary matters. See
McKenna, 582 F.3d at 460 (evidentiary rulings); Donlin v. Philips Lighting N. Am. Corp.,
581 F.3d 73, 78 (3d Cir. 2009) (jury instructions).
III. Discussion
A. Evidence of Feasibility
Prior to trial, BMW filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude evidence of other
car manufacturer recalls (by Nissan in 1987 and Jeep in 1994) in order to retrofit their
vehicles with Lock Systems. While Jacobson had adduced this evidence to show that it
would have been feasible for BMW to have included a Lock System in its vehicles at the
5
time the 325i was manufactured, BMW asserted that it would not contest feasibility at
trial. The parties agreed to a stipulation that the Lock Systems were “technologically and
economically feasible” at the relevant time, and the District Court therefore excluded the
evidence of other recalls.
Jacobson argues that this was an abuse of discretion. To demonstrate that the
Court abused its discretion, Jacobson must show that the evidentiary ruling was
“arbitrary, fanciful or clearly unreasonable.” Acumed LLC v. Advanced Surgical Servs.,
Inc., 561 F.3d 199, 211 (3d Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
Jacobson cannot do so. Notwithstanding the fact that this evidence may have been
admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 407, which allows for evidence of subsequent
remedial measures to be admitted in certain instances, it was not necessary to admit this
evidence here, since BMW had stipulated to feasibility. It was also not unreasonable to
exclude it. Although Jacobson now argues that this evidence would also have shown that
the BMW was unsafe without a Lock System, he did not advance this argument in the
District Court, and we will not consider it for the first time on appeal.
Jacobson also challenges the exclusion of this recall evidence based on certain
responses of BMW’s expert witness, Wolfe Busch, in which he stated that the Lock
Systems were “feasible, but not yet invented.” Jacobson argues that this “opened the
door” to the recall evidence to demonstrate the feasibility and availability of the Lock
Systems. However, the District Court and the parties addressed this objection by adding
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to the previous stipulation language stating that these systems were “available.” The
District Court then properly instructed the jury to disregard Busch’s prior testimony to the
extent it contradicted the stipulation, Busch agreed with the amended stipulation, and
Jacobson did not lodge an objection to this procedure. We find no abuse of discretion in
the District Court’s handling of this aspect of the trial.
B. Jury Instruction Concerning the Definition of “Design Defect”
Jacobson also finds fault with the District Court’s instruction regarding the
definition of a “design defect.” As part of this instruction, the Court stated that “[t]he
designer or distributor of a product is a guarantor of its safety. The product must be
provided with every element necessary to make it safe for its intended use by an intended
user and without any condition that makes it unsafe for its intended use by an intended
user.” App. 243-44 (emphasis added). Jacobson contends that the District Court erred
by inserting the word “intended” before the word “use” and by not further instructing the
jury concerning the meaning of “intended.”
However, Jacobson did not object to the phrasing of this language at trial.2
Instead, he specifically accepted several proposed jury instructions that incorporated the
2
The contentious issue between the parties at trial with regard to this instruction
was the phrase “intended user,” rather than “intended use.” See App. 189-94. During the
final charge conference, after the Court had gone over the instruction containing
“intended use,” App. 191, Jacobson’s lawyer stated that, “on behalf of Plaintiff, I have
reviewed your entire document and I have no objections to anything other than the
‘and/or,’ and the language in the verdict slip,” App. 201.
7
concept of an “intended use.” 3 A party who has not clearly and specifically objected to a
jury instruction is deemed to have waived that challenge. Alexander v. Riga, 208 F.3d
419, 426 (3d Cir. 2000). If a party does not object, we review the instruction for plain
error, and will reverse “only if the trial court committed error that was fundamental and
highly prejudicial.” Id.
There was no plain error. Under Pennsylvania law, which the parties agree applies
here, “a manufacturer can be deemed liable only for harm that occurs in connection with a
product’s intended use by an intended user.” Pa. Dep’t of Gen. Servs. v. U.S. Mineral
Prods. Co., 898 A.2d 590, 600 (Pa. 2006).4 Thus, it was appropriate for the Court to refer
3
Jacobson agreed to Defendants’ Requested Jury Charge No. 15, which stated:
“To decide if the Model 325 in question was defective, you must first decide if the Model
325 was defective in its normal and intended use.” Supp. App. 169 (emphasis in
original). He further agreed to Defendants’ Requested Jury Charge No. 17, which stated:
“A manufacturer is entitled to assume that its products will not be subjected to abnormal,
unintended uses. No liability follows from damages resulting from such abnormal,
unintended uses.” Supp. App. 171. Finally, Jacobson’s own proposed instruction,
Plaintiff’s Requested Jury Charge No. 1, directly incorporated the concept of an “intended
use” into the definition of “design defect” by stating:
The product must be provided with every element necessary to make it safe for its
intended and foreseeable use, and without any condition that makes it unsafe for its
intended and foreseeable use. If you find that the product, at the time it left the
defendant’s control, lacked any element necessary to make it safe for its intended
and foreseeable use, or contained any condition that made it unsafe for its intended
and foreseeable use, and there was an alternative, safer practicable design, then the
product was defective and the defendant is liable for all harm caused by the defect.
Supp. App. 202.
4
Although the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Department of General
Services was issued after Jacobson was injured and after he filed this lawsuit, federal
courts must apply state law “in accordance with the then controlling decision of the
highest state court.” Vandenbark v. Owens-Illinois Glass Co., 311 U.S. 538, 543 (1941).
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to the product’s “intended use” in the jury instructions. The principal case relied upon by
Jacobson, Mount Olivet Tabernacle Church v. Edwin L. Wiegand Division, 781 A.2d
1263 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2001), is not applicable to these facts. In that case, the court merely
held that the word “intended” is “not always necessary for a proper instruction.” Id. at
1268. It did not preclude courts from ever referring to the intended use.
Jacobson did object to the Court’s decision not to include a definition of “intended
use” that encompassed any use “reasonably foreseeable” to the seller. When a party has
properly objected to a jury instruction, we review for abuse of discretion, and we must
determine “whether, taken as a whole, the instruction properly apprised the jury of the
issues and the applicable law.” Donlin, 581 F.3d at 78 (citing Dressler v. Busch Entm’t
Corp., 143 F.3d 778, 780 (3d Cir. 1998)). Even a mistake in a jury instruction will not
constitute reversible error if the instruction “‘fairly and adequately’ presents the issues in
the case without confusing or misleading the jury.” United States v. Ellis,
156 F.3d 493,
498 n.7 (3d Cir. 1998). Jacobson cites to Pacheco v. The Coats Co.,
26 F.3d 418, 422 (3d
Cir. 1994), and Sheldon v. West Bend Equipment Corp.,
718 F.2d 603, 608 (3d Cir. 1983),
as establishing that under Pennsylvania law the “intended use” of a product includes all
uses “reasonably foreseeable” by the manufacturer. However, the reasoning of these
This requires the application of current state law, as determined by the state supreme
court, even if it were to be changed while the federal action is pending. Id.; Air Prods. &
Chems., Inc. v. Hartford Accident & Indem. Co.,
25 F.3d 177, 181 (3d Cir. 1994); Baker
v. Outboard Marine Corp.,
595 F.2d 176, 182 (3d Cir. 1979).
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cases was explicitly rejected by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Pa. Dep’t of Gen.
Servs., 898 A.2d at 603-04. We ordinarily are bound by the published decisions of prior
panels of this court unless the holding is undermined by a subsequent Supreme Court case
or overruled by this court sitting en banc. Nationwide Ins. Co. v. Patterson, 953 F.2d 44,
46 (3d Cir. 1991). However, when applying state law, we are free to reexamine the
validity of our prior state law interpretations in light of subsequent decisions of the state
supreme court. Id. Here, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in Department of
General Services was issued after our opinions in Pacheco and Sheldon, and specifically
rejects their rationale. 898 A.2d at 603-04.
As noted above, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Department of General
Services stated that “a manufacturer can be deemed liable only for harm that occurs in
connection with a product’s intended use by an intended user.” Id. at 600. The court in
that case rejected the trial court’s jury instruction authorizing consideration of
“foreseeability,” holding that, with limited exceptions, the “foreseeable misuse of a
product will not support a strict liability claim.” Id. at 601. Therefore, the District
Court’s decision to omit “foreseeability” from its jury instruction on the definition of
“design defect” properly apprised the jury of the applicable law, and the District Court did
not abuse its discretion in denying Jacobson’s motion for a new trial on this ground.
C. Admission of Evidence of Plaintiff’s Contributory Negligence
While Jacobson’s brief mentions contributory negligence in the statement of facts,
10
it does not refer to it again. BMW correctly notes that “an argument consisting of no
more than a conclusory assertion . . . will be deemed waived.” Reynolds v. Wagner, 128
F.3d 166, 178 (3d Cir. 1997). As we have previously stated, “appellate courts generally
should not address legal issues that the parties have not developed through proper
briefing.” S.W. Pa. Growth Alliance v. Browner,
121 F.3d 106, 122 (3d Cir. 1997).
Jacobson has therefore waived this argument and we need not consider its merits.
IV. Conclusion
For the reasons set forth above, we will AFFIRM the Order and Judgment of the
District Court.
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