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Barnes v. Sandoz Crop Protection Corp.3/14/1997
DRUKE, Chief Judge.
Robert and Janice Barnes, doing business as Bob Barnes Farms ("the farm"), sued Sandoz Crop Protection Corporation to recover for damage to its cotton crop allegedly caused by use of Zorial, an herbicide Sandoz manufactured. The farm alleged claims of strict products liability, negligence, and breaches of various express and implied warranties. Sandoz moved for summary judgment, arguing that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act ("FIFRA"), 7 U.S.C. ยงยง 136 through 136y, preempted the negligence and warranty claims. Sandoz also argued that the strict liability claim failed for lack of evidence. The trial court granted summary judgment, ruling that FIFRA preempted all the claims. This appeal follows the trial court's denial of the farm's motion for reconsideration. We affirm.
In its products liability claim, the farm alleged that the Zorial it used "was defective and unreasonably dangerous in that it destroyed entire crop." While the trial court granted summary judgment on preemption grounds, we need not decide the correctness of its decision because summary judgment can be affirmed for a different reason. See Gary Outdoor Advertising Co. v. Sun Lodge, Inc., 133 Ariz. 240, 650 P.2d 1222 (1982) (correct result by trial court will be affirmed even if based on different reason).
In Gosewich v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., our supreme court set forth the following requirements for a strict products liability claim:
The plaintiff must show that the product is in a defective condition and unreasonably dangerous, the defective condition existed at the time the product left the defendant's control, and the defective condition is the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury . Three types of defects can result in an unreasonably dangerous product: (1) design defects, (2) manufacturing defects, and (3) informational defects encompassing instructions and warnings.
153 Ariz. 400, 403, 737 P.2d 376, 379 (citations omitted).
The farm has pled design defect. To avoid summary judgment, therefore, the farm was required to present sufficient evidence to show that Zorial was defective, that the defect was unreasonably dangerous, and that the farm's injuries were proximately caused by the defect. Orme School v. Reeves, 166 Ariz. 301, 310, 802 P.2d 1000, 1009 (1990) (trial court must grant summary judgment "where the proponent presents no evidence from which a reasonable jury could find, directly or by inference, that the possibilities favored the proponent").
The farm retained two experts, Dr. John Chernicky and Samuel Stedman, who both testified at deposition that Zorial should not be used on cotton grown in Arizona. Neither expert stated, however, that Zorial was so defectively designed that it should not be used on cotton grown anywhere. Indeed, Stedman agreed that Zorial should not be removed from the market. "It's a product that we need to continue, continue working with," he said, "but we need to make sure the recommendation is correct." Dr. Chernicky's testimony contained the followed colloquies:
Q. Is it your opinion that Zorial should not be used at all in Arizona cotton?
[Dr. Chernicky]: Correct.
Q. And on what do you base that opinion?
A. Its potential to injure cotton.
Q. Do you know that the amount of Zorial in 1994 was double the amount used in Arizona cotton in '93?
A. I wasn't aware of that.
Q. Would that be important to you?
A. No.
Q. So, in your opinion, Zorial should not be used at all in Arizona on cotton?
A. It's my opinion.
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