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Miller v. Rinker Boat Co.9/15/2004
PUBLISHED
In July 2000, plaintiffs, Angela L. Miller (hereinafter plaintiff), filed a complaint individually and as executrix of her deceased husband's estate against defendant, Rinker Boat Company, Inc., an Indiana corporation, alleging wrongful death of her husband, Darrin R. Miller (decedent), based on strict liability and negligence. In October 2002, defendant filed a motion for summary judgment. In January 2003, after a hearing on the motion, the trial court granted summary judgment for defendant. Plaintiff appeals, arguing (1) in granting summary judgment to defendant on the strict-liability count, the court erred in concluding that plaintiff has not sufficiently demonstrated the existence of a design defect that made the boat unreasonably dangerous; (2) the court erred in finding defendant owed no duty to warn, or, in the alternative, defendant provided adequate warning as matter of law; and (3) in granting summary judgment to defendant on the negligence count, the court erred in concluding that plaintiff failed to present any evidence to support any breaches of duty by defendant and failed to prove defendant's breaches, if any, proximately caused decedent's death. We reverse and remand.
I. BACKGROUND
A. Procedural Background
On July 24, plaintiff filed a wrongful-death complaint against defendant based on a strict-liability theory and also a negligence theory. Specifically, plaintiff claimed that the boat in question had the following defects:
(1) The boat had slippery surfaces in locations utilized by passengers for ingress to and egress from the passenger compartment;
(2) the boat had no antiskid surface along the rear in a location that passengers had to stand on and cross for ingress to and egress from the passenger area; and
(3) the boat contained no markings, warnings, or instructions to discourage and prevent passengers from standing on the slippery surfaces described above.
On October 21, 2002, defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing as follows:
(1) Under the strict-liability count,
(a) plaintiff did not sufficiently prove that defendant manufactured a boat that was defective or unreasonably dangerous, and
(b) defendant had no duty to warn because plaintiff complains about a danger that is open and obvious, and, in any event, defendant provided adequate warning in the instructional manual;
(2) under the negligence count,
(a) plaintiff failed to demonstrate that defendant breached its duty of care to decedent, and
(b) defendant owed no duty to warn, or defendant provided adequate warning in the instruction manual.
Defendant attached to its memorandum of law in support of its motion for summary judgment a photocopied picture of the Rinker 232 Captiva Cuddy boat and the Rinker owner's manual for Cuddy Cabin boats.
On November 21, 2002, plaintiff filed a response to defendant's motion for summary judgment and a memorandum of law opposing summary judgment. Plaintiff attached to her memorandum of law the following: (1) plaintiff's deposition, (2) Randy Rinker's deposition, (3) Angela Walker's deposition, (4) Robert "Whitey" Walker's deposition, (5) Todd Miller's deposition, (6) James Allen's deposition, (7) Lloyd Standridge's deposition, (8) Dr. Travis Hindman's deposition, (9) Dr. Christopher Long's deposition, (10) Kim Slocum's deposition, (11) Robert Dumford's deposition, (12) Christian Von Der Hyde's deposition, (13) U.S. Paint Company's (U.S. Paint) instructions for mixing sand-and-paint mixture, (14) a Rinker owner's manual, and (15) Tom Richardson's deposition. Plainti
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