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Allenberg v. Bentley Hedges Travel Serv. Inc.3/6/2001
APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF OKLAHOMA COUNTY
Honorable Daniel L. Owens, Trial Judge
Bentley Hedges Travel transported two passengers to the airport in a used shuttle bus which it had purchased from the appellee, Arkansas Bus Exchange (Arkansas Bus). While en route to the airport the bus was involved in an accident and both passengers were injured. One of the passengers died a few days after the accident and the other subsequently died of causes unrelated to the accident. The representatives of their estates brought actions against Arkansas Bus asserting a claim for manufacturers' products liability. Arkansas Bus moved for summary judgment, arguing that the doctrine of manufacturers' products liability does not apply to commercial sellers of used products. The trial court entered judgment in favor of Arkansas Bus. We hold that manufacturers' products liability is inapplicable to the commercial seller of a used product if the alleged defect was not created by the seller, and if the product is sold in essentially the same condition as when it was acquired for resale.
TRIAL COURT AFFIRMED.
The first impression question presented is whether manufacturers' products liability is applicable to the commercial seller of a used product if the alleged defect was not created by the seller, and if the product is sold in essentially the same condition as when it was acquired for resale. We have determined that it is not.
FACTS
On July 16, 1997, Bentley Hedges Travel arranged transportation to the airport for Ava Pattee Allenberg and her daughter, Gwinn Norman (passengers), in a used shuttle bus which it had purchased from the appellee, Arkansas Bus Exchange (Arkansas Bus). While en route to the airport, the driver of the bus ran a red light causing the bus to collide with other vehicles in an intersection. Both passengers were seated on the left side of the bus facing the center aisle. The bus was not equipped with seat belts, and the passengers were flung from their seats and injured in the collision. Ava Allenberg died a few days after the accident.
On February 19, 1998, Gwinn Norman, filed a lawsuit on her own behalf and another lawsuit as the personal representative of her mother's estate. She sued Bentley Hedges Travel and the driver of the bus alleging that they were negligent. She also sued Arkansas Bus alleging that it had distributed and sold a defective, unreasonably dangerous shuttle bus because the bus was not equipped with seat belts, adequate handholds, or secured luggage compartments. Bentley Hedges and the bus driver were later dismissed from the lawsuit.
Arkansas Bus filed answers in both causes, denying the allegations and asserting that it could not be liable because it did not manufacture, design, or produce the bus, nor did it alter, change or modify the bus in any way from its original condition. It also filed third party indemnity claims against National Coach Corp., Eldorado National Corp., Thor Industries, Ebc, Inc., Gelco Corp., John Doe, Manufacturer, and Budget Rent-A-Car Systems (Budget) as manufacturers of the bus and/or predecessors, successors or subsidiaries. According to the pre-trial order, the third party indemnity claims, with the exception of the claim against Budget, were later dismissed without prejudice or summary judgment was entered in their favor.
On April 27, 1999, Arkansas Bus filed motions for summary judgment in both causes, arguing that the bus was neither defective nor the proximate cause of Ava Allenberg's or Gwinn Norman's injuries. The trial court denied the motions on July 23, 1999. While the lawsuits progressed, Gwinn Norman died of cause
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