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Penley v. Honda Motor Co.8/25/2000
The sole issue in this appeal is whether the ten-year statute of repose codified in the Tennessee Products Liability Act, Tenn. Code Ann. ยง 29-28-103(a) (1980 & Supp. 1999), is tolled during any period of a plaintiff's mental incompetence. Granting the defendants' motion for summary judgment, the Chester County Circuit Court ruled that (1) the plaintiff's action was brought more than ten years from the product's first purchase for use or consumption; and (2) the ten-year statute of repose was not tolled by reason of mental incompetence. The Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment, and the plaintiff was granted permission to appeal by this Court. For the reasons given herein, we likewise affirm the grant of summary judgment to the defendants and hold that mental incompetency does not operate to toll the statute of repose contained within the Tennessee Products Liability Act. The judgment of the Court of Appeals is affirmed, and the plaintiff's suit is dismissed.
Tenn. R. App. P. 11 Application for Permission to Appeal; Judgment of the Court of Appeals is Affirmed; Case Dismissed
William M. Barker, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which E. Riley Anderson, C.J., and Frank F. Drowota, III, Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., and Janice M. Holder, JJ., joined.
OPINION
On June 8, 1996, the plaintiff, Gayle Penley, along with several of her friends, went to the farm of William and Anne Morris to ride four-wheel all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Because the group did not have enough ATVs for everyone to ride, Anne Morris allowed the plaintiff to borrow her ATV, and the group left to ride along some nearby trails. While riding on one of these trails, the plaintiff started to climb a steep hill, and as she neared the top of the hill, the ATV suddenly rolled over backwards and crushed her. The accident resulted in extensive injuries to the plaintiff's back and chest.
The plaintiff was rushed to a nearby hospital where she remained until her release on June 27, 1996. Upon closer examination, it was discovered that the plaintiff suffered a fracture of the L-1 vertebrae and fractures of the fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs on her right side. During her hospitalization, the plaintiff was in extreme pain and required near constant narcotic pain medication. As the plaintiff alleged in her amended complaint, she "was incapacitated and required twenty-four hour supervision and care. She was incapable of working, tending to her personal business, or of taking care of herself." The plaintiff also stated in an affidavit that she "was often unaware of what was going on around , and was periodically disoriented and dizzy."
On June 6, 1997, the plaintiff filed suit under the Tennessee Products Liability Act (TPLA) in the Circuit Court for Chester County alleging that the ATV involved in the plaintiff's injuries was designed, manufactured, tested, marketed, and sold in a defective or unreasonably dangerous condition. The claims against defendants Honda Motor Company, Ltd., American Honda Motor Company, Inc., Honda Research and Development Company, Ltd., and Joe's Cycle Shop, Inc., alleged strict liability, negligence, failure to warn, breach of express warranties, and breach of the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
On July 21, 1997, the defendants filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that the plaintiff's claims were barred by the ten-year statute of repose as set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-28-103(a). The defendants alleged that the ATV involved in the plaintiff's accident was first purchased for use or consumption by Ann Morris on May 23, 1987, ten years and thirteen days
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