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Copeland v. Stebco Products Corp.9/29/2000
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County
Honorable James S. Quinlan, Jr., Judge Presiding.
Plaintiff, Catherine Jo Copeland, brought this action against defendant, Stebco Products Corporation (Stebco), for an eye injury she sustained while using a portable luggage carrier. Plaintiff's second amended complaint alleged causes of action for negligence and product liability against Stebco. Just before trial, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed her negligence claim and consolidated the remaining two counts of her complaint into a single product liability count. Stebco denied the allegations and asserted the affirmative defense of assumption of the risk. Stebco also filed a third-party complaint against Jiun Long Metal & Industrial Co. (Jiun Long). Jiun Long filed an answer to the third-party complaint but did not appear or participate in the trial. The jury found for the plaintiff and awarded the plaintiff $3,023,000.
On appeal, defendant contends that: (1) plaintiff violated Supreme Court Rule 213 (166 Ill. 2d R. 213) in failing to disclose all of its expert's previously performed tests and measurements on the alleged defective product and a new trial is warranted; (2) plaintiff's counsel made improper and prejudicial comments during closing argument; (3) the trial court erred in directing a verdict for the plaintiff as to the affirmative defense of assumption of risk; (4) the cumulative errors warrant a new trial; and (5) defendant is entitled to a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial on its third-party complaint seeking contribution against Jiun Long. We reverse and remand for a new trial.
TRIAL TESTIMONY
At trial, Catherine Copeland demonstrated for the jury how she placed her suitcase on the luggage carrier and put her briefcase on top. She hooked the bungee cord on the bottom horizontal tube of the carrier and was pulling up on the cord, trying to hook it on the middle bar on the carrier. As she was leaning over the carrier and pulling the bungee cord upwards, the portion of the bungee cord she had hooked on the bottom of the carrier came off and hit her in her eye.
At the time of her injury she was working on her doctorate in education and had a bachelor's degree in elementary education, a master's degree in curriculum instruction, and a reading specialist degree. She taught children ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade. She returned to the classroom but had difficulty, and after trying for six years, she left teaching. As a result of the injury she wears many different types of glasses for reading, driving, watching television and for double vision. Also, her pupil is enlarged, her eyelid droops and her iris is a different color.
Edward Stein, president of Stebco, testified that the luggage carriers were purchased by Stebco from Jiun Long. No instructions or warnings are provided with the luggage carriers, and Stebco does not make any recommendations regarding safe or unsafe ways to use the carrier. Stein stated that the manner in which Catherine Copeland hooked the bungee cord was proper and safe. He reviewed the quality and reputation of Jiun Long products and selected the luggage carrier as one of the products from Jiun Long that Stebco put on the market.
Stebco's expert died before his evidence deposition could be taken, and as a result, Stebco produced no expert witness testimony at trial.
Dr. Holecamp, plaintiff's treating physician, described her injuries as a severe corneal abrasion and contusion injury to the cornea accompanied by severe hemorrhage in the anterior portion of the eye called a hyphema. Plaintiff has had limited success w
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