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Apodaca v. AAA Gas Co.3/11/2003
This is an appeal from a civil jury verdict in favor of Defendants denying Plaintiffs damages for personal injury and property loss. Plaintiffs raise seven points of error: (1) refusing a jury instruction for ultrahazardous activity; (2) instructing the jury that the Liquefied Petroleum Gases Handbook of the National Fire Protection Association No. 58 (NFPA 58) applied to Plaintiffs and their employer, Cañada, Inc. (Cañada); (3) allowing the admission of a hospital statement; (4) denying their motions to amend complaint against LP Gas Equipment, Inc. (LPGE); (5) denying separate peremptory challenges for Plaintiff-spouses; (6) excluding expert testimony pertaining to loss of enjoyment of life; and (7) dismissing punitive damages claim against LPGE.
On cross-appeal, Defendant AAA Gas Company (AAA Gas) objects to the trial court's rulings: (1) allowing the jury to consider punitive damages, (2) allowing the jury to consider strict liability for non-delegable duty, and (3) denying them costs.
We affirm the judgment of the trial court as to Plaintiffs' points one through five, as well as its denial of costs. Because we affirm, we do not reach Plaintiffs' expert testimony and punitive damages issues or the jury instruction issues raised by AAA Gas.
FACTS
On July 29, 1997, Plaintiffs Gilbert Apodaca and Jeffrey Velasquez suffered serious personal injuries when a propane tank they were repairing leaked liquid propane and exploded. A third mechanic, Joe Salazar, suffered severe injuries which led to his death on August 14, 1997. Apodaca, Velasquez, and Salazar were employed as mechanics by Cañada, a repair shop that advertised itself as specializing in the repair of utility equipment, including liquid propane delivery trucks. AAA Gas, a seller of propane, owned the liquid propane gas and delivery truck involved in the explosion. LPGE, a distributor of liquid propane gas equipment, sold the internal cargo tank valve at issue, as a distributor of Fisher Controls, Inc. (Fisher Controls).
On July 14, 1997, AAA Gas delivered one of its delivery trucks to Cañada for repair of a belly valve that would not close. Cañada requested AAA Gas to pick up the truck to empty the propane from the tank so the valve and pump could be replaced. After retrieving and emptying the truck, it was returned to Cañada, and Cañada performed certain repairs. AAA Gas retrieved the truck on July 25 and after testing the system, discovered that the tank still would not pump propane. After several attempts to troubleshoot the problem, AAA Gas called Cañada, which instructed AAA Gas to bring the truck back to the shop a third time.
At trial the parties disputed whether AAA Gas informed Cañada that there was propane in the truck when it arrived at Cañada's garage the third time. However, it was undisputed that the truck was about eighty percent full of propane. Salazar moved the loaded truck into the garage for repair. When Salazar loosened the bolts under the pump, there was a sudden release of liquid propane. The propane reached an ignition source after Salazar and Apodaca made their way to the back of the truck. Salazar died of his injuries, Apodaca suffered severe third degree burns to twenty percent of his body, and Velasquez suffered second degree "flash" burns to over thirteen percent of his body.
PROCEEDINGS
Salazar's estate filed a complaint for wrongful death in Valencia County. Jarner ex rel. Salazar v. AAA Gas Co., No. VA-97-1403-CV. Plaintiffs intervened in the Valencia County suit on May 25, 1999. However, Plaintiffs' claims were dismissed without prejudice for improper venue on February 21, 2000, after Salazar's cl
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