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Jett v. Ford Motor Company2/11/2004
Submitted on remand August 27, 2003.
Affirmed.
This case is before us on remand from the Oregon Supreme Court, Jett v. Ford Motor Co., 335 Or 493, 72 P3d 71 (2003). Plaintiff Trudy Jett initiated the action against defendant Ford Motor Company (Ford), claiming that a delivery truck manufactured by Ford that she drove as an employee of United Parcel Service (UPS) was defective and injured her as a result of that defect. Ford countered that plaintiff's injuries were the result of her own negligence. A jury found for plaintiff, apportioning 85percent of the fault to Ford and the remaining 15 percent to plaintiff. Ford appealed, assigning error to (1) the trial court's exclusion of portions of UPS safety rules pertaining to the safe operation of delivery trucks, (2) the trial court's "Sandford instruction" to the jury regarding those issues that the jury could consider in assessing plaintiff's comparative fault on the product liability claim, and (3) the trial court's denial of Ford's motion for a mistrial, or alternatively, for leave to reopen its case in order to present evidence of plaintiff's "Mary Carter agreements" with Ford's co-defendants.
We reversed and remanded, concluding that the trial court had erred in excluding the UPS safety manual from evidence because such evidence is relevant to demonstrating the reasonableness of plaintiff's conduct. Jett v. Ford Motor Company, 183 Or App 260, 268-69, 52 P3d 441 (2002). We also addressed Ford's contention that the trial court had erred in delivering a Sanford instruction, but ultimately concluded that Ford had failed to preserve that issue. Id. at 269. We did not reach Ford's third assignment of error. Id.
On review, the Supreme Court concluded that, even if exclusion of the safety manual was error, that error was an insufficient basis for reversal. Jett, 335 Or at 499-501. Since Ford had been able to adduce evidence of the applicable standard of care illustrated in the safety manual through a number of other witnesses, exclusion of the safety manual did not substantially affect Ford's rights such that reversal was required under ORS 19.415(2). Id. The Supreme Court also concluded that Ford had adequately informed the trial court as to the basis for its exception to the Sandford instruction, and reversed and remanded to us for consideration of Ford's remaining assignments of error. Id. at 502-03. We conclude that the trial court properly gave the Sandford instruction to the jury and did not abuse its discretion in denying Ford's motion for a mistrial. We therefore affirm.
We restate the underlying facts of the action from our original opinion:
"Plaintiff was a professional package delivery truck driver for UPS. On April 22, 1996, she reported that her regular truck was difficult to shift. Two days later, she again reported trouble with shifting. On April 29, the truck was taken in for servicing, and plaintiff was given a replacement truck. Plaintiff, however, reported that the replacement vehicle also was difficult to shift. On April 30, the individual responsible for truck maintenance and service spoke with plaintiff about the shifting problem with the replacement truck. He told plaintiff that the replacement truck was unsafe and that she should wait until later that morning to do her rounds, when her regular truck would be available.
"Plaintiff declined to wait. She loaded the replacement truck with parcels, turned on the ignition, and pulled the truck forward approximately 10 feet. Immediately, however, she encountered difficulty with the gear shift. She moved the transmission shift lever to "neutral." She believes that she set the parking brake, because that was her usu
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