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UNIROYAL GOODRICH TIRE CO. v. HALL5/3/1996
Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company appeals from a judgment awarding Jackie Darryl Hall $1,025,000 in compensatory damages on Hall's claim that he was injured as a result of an explosive rupture of a tire manufactured by B.F. Goodrich Company. We reverse and remand.
On August 8, 1991, Jackie Darryl Hall and several co-workers were using a gooseneck trailer to haul cattle; the trailer experienced a blowout of one of the trailer tires. They drove a short distance to a shop, where they removed the tire and attempted to replace it with a 16-inch light truck tire. It is undisputed that the wheel rim, manufactured by the Budd Company and distributed by Ford Motor Company, did not have its size stamped on it; however, it was a 16.5-inch wheel rim. A 16-inch tire should be mounted on a 16-inch wheel rim. An attempt to
mount a tire of one size onto a wheel rim of a different size is known in the industry as a "mismatch." Not knowing that the wheel and rim were different sizes, Hall attempted to mount the mismatched tire onto the rim; the tire exploded. The tire had the following warning on the sidewall:
"SAFETY WARNING Serious injury may result from tire failure due to under-inflation/overloading. Follow owner's manual or tire placard in vehicle. Explosion of tire/rim assembly due to improper mounting. Never exceed 40 psi when seating beads. Mount only on 16-inch rims. Only specially trained persons should mount tires. Use only rims designated by the wheel manufacturer as suitable for radial tires."
Apparently, upon inflating the tire, two or three inches of the tire "would not 'pop out' or 'bead out' against the flange of the wheel." Appellant's brief, page 9.
"The tire was then removed from the mounting machine and placed on the ground. It was deflated, and oil was applied around the rim edge and the tire bead. Leaving the tire lying unrestrained on the ground, it was then inflated again, but bead seat was still not obtained. The tire was then gauged and found to contain between 38 and 40 psi."
Appellant's brief, page 9. (Citations to the record omitted.) More air was added to the tire. The tire exploded, causing substantial injury to the plaintiff's left leg and left arm.
Hall sued the manufacturer of the wheel rim, the Budd Company; the distributor of the wheel rim, Ford Motor Company; and the tire manufacturer, B.F. Goodrich Company, alleging negligence and wantonness and claiming liability under the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine. He later amended his complaint to add as defendants Steve Worscham, individually and d/b/a/ B & S Grocery, the operator of the shop where the accident occurred. The trial court entered a summary judgment in favor of Worscham. Budd and Ford Motor Company settled with Hall for $450,000, and they are not parties to this appeal. The jury returned a verdict against B.F. Goodrich in the amount of $825,000. Pursuant to a pretrial agreement between the parties relating to several evidentiary and set-off issues, the trial court increased the award by $200,000, to $1,025,000.
B.F. Goodrich appealed from the resulting judgment. It contends that the trial court erred in charging the jury that contributory negligence was not a defense to Hall's AEMLD claim. We agree. Because that error requires that we reverse and remand, we pretermit discussion of the appellant's other arguments.
The trial judge charged the jury as follows:
"The defendant also claims that the plaintiff was guilty of negligence which proximately contributed to the alleged injuries. Contributory negligence is a defense to actions based upon negligence. Contributory negligence as it relat
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