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Kava v. American Honda Motor Co.6/14/2002
ad been taken to emergency rooms as a result of injuries in 3-wheel accidents. Over 250 people had been killed. . . . [Honda] knew it had an unstable machine on its hands. It knew it from the [Consumer Product Safety Commission] statistics." Over Honda's objection, the estate later introduced the CPSC statistics as evidence that Honda had notice of injuries resulting from the use of its three-wheel ATVs. The estate also recounted the statistics in its closing argument.
Honda asserts that it introduced the comparative risk evidence to explain the CPSC statistics and to "prove that the statistics relied upon by [the estate's expert witness] were inaccurate and irrelevant." We agree that Honda's comparative risk evidence was relevant to refute the estate's statistical evidence and to impeach its expert's testimony regarding those statistics. As we recently stated, "a party may open the door to evidence on a subject by putting that subject at issue in the case." Here, the estate opened the door to a discussion of the statistical methodology behind the CPSC reports. The emergency room statistics that the estate chose to present were relevant to establish notice only insofar as they suggested a disproportionally high rate of injury and, inferentially, a defective product. By offering the injury statistics as relevant evidence of notice, the estate necessarily asserted that they tended to show that ATVs were defective - that Honda "knew it had an unstable machine on its hands." How else, then, could Honda have contextualized the rates of emergency room admissions without comparing the ATV injury rates with similar products? The statistics of ATV-related emergency room admissions, standing alone, could not explain the reasons for the reported injuries or establish the need for a corrective response by Honda. Honda was therefore entitled to offer the comparative risk evidence in response to the estate's use of the CPSC statistics.
Second, the comparative risk evidence was also admissible because it played an important role in connection with the issue of punitive damages. The estate's theory of punitive damages was that Honda continued to market three-wheel ATVs knowing that the three-wheelers had a high rate of injury. It based its theory in large part on the fact that Honda had notice of the CPSC emergency room statistics as early as 1984 but continued to market three-wheel ATVs. The estate asserted that the continued marketing in the face of the injury statistics showed that Honda's conduct was sufficiently reprehensible to support punitive damages. Honda's comparative risk evidence directly responded to the estate's theory of punitive damages.
We conclude that the superior court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the comparative risk evidence.
C. The Effect of the Mistrial.
The estate argues that it should have been granted a new trial on its negligence cause of action because the trial court sua sponte declared a mistrial on that claim and allowed the jury to reach a verdict only on the estate's products liability claim. In response, Honda notes that the special verdict form allowed the jury to award the same categories of damages for both causes of action. According to Honda, the products liability and negligence theories were alternative causes of action, and the jury's verdict on the products liability claim therefore resolved all damages issues, leaving no reason for trial on the alternative theory of negligence. Honda additionally argues that, in any event, the estate waived its right to ask for a retrial on negligence.
As a threshold matter, we agree with the estate that the trial court acted sua sponte in declaring a hung jury and
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