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Foster v. Catalina Industries8/7/2001
Appeal From: Circuit Court of Greene County, Hon. Calvin R. Holden
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.
Barney, C.J., concurs; Garrison, J., dissents in separate opinion.
Opinion:
Opinion modified by Court's own motion on August 9, 2001. This substitution does not constitute a new opinion.
Plaintiffs sought damages for the wrongful death of their son, Conor Foster. He was electrocuted and died on November 10, 1995, when he touched a floor lamp at his home. Aside from damages, the only issue presented in the jury trial was which of the Defendants imported the lamp which the parties agree was defective. The jury returned a verdict against Defendant-Appellant Catalina Industries, Inc. ("Catalina"), finding Plaintiffs' damages to be $15 million. Judgment was entered in accordance with the verdict with the addition of prejudgment interest. Defendant Catalina appeals, presenting eight points relied on. They are discussed in the order stated in Appellant's brief.
Facts
Ginger and Charles Foster purchased a black, halogen, swing-arm lamp from Best Products in Missoula, Montana on November 11, 1991. Charles Foster returned the floor lamp to Best Products in October of 1992 because the light flickered and the dimmer switch hummed. A store employee informed Foster that they did not have a replacement lamp in stock at that time and gave him a voucher to redeem after the store received a new shipment of the lamps. On November 14, 1992, the Fosters redeemed their voucher and were given a new, black, halogen, swing-arm lamp appearing to be like the one they originally purchased.
On November 10, 1995, the Fosters' four-year-old son, Conor, was electrocuted while playing hide-and-seek with his brother in the Fosters' living room. At the time of his death, the source of the electrocution could not be determined. Approximately two years later Charles Foster received an electrical shock from the lamp as he reached to retrieve an item he had dropped and made contact with the base of the lamp and a metal air duct cover. He then realized that Conor may have been electrocuted from touching the lamp.
Initial testing of the lamp revealed that the lamp frame was energized at all times when plugged into an outlet. The cause of the defect, a cut in the insulation of the electrical wiring and a reversal of the positive and neutral wiring at a splice on the wire, was discovered on August 7, 1998, when the lamp was disassembled in Norman, Oklahoma. This defect caused the lamp to remain "hot," thereby energizing the frame at all times when the lamp was plugged into an outlet. As a result, an electric current would pass through any person touching both the lamp frame and a well-grounded object.
The Fosters filed a suit for damages for wrongful death against Grandrich Corporation and Catalina Industries, Inc. Although both defendants stipulated that the defective lamp was the cause of Conor Foster's death, each deny that they imported the subject lamp. Grandrich Corporation ("Grandrich") was the exclusive supplier of black, halogen, swing-arm lamps to Best Products, Inc. in 1991 and early 1992. Best Products received its last shipment of the lamps from Grandrich on January 22, 1992. Dana Lighting ("Dana"), a subsidiary of Catalina Lighting, Inc. (now Catalina Industries), became the exclusive supplier of such lamps in 1992. Best Products received its first shipment of lamps from Dana in April, 1992. Between April, 1992, and January, 1993, Best Products received a total of 2,868 lamps from Dana, 54 of which were received on October 29, 1992. Best Products' 1991-1992 catalog did not desig
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