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Wal-Mart Stores12/3/1999
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 242-4621), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is printed in Southern Reporter.
OCTOBER TERM, 1999-2000
Tony Bowers and Ann Bowers, husband and wife, sued Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ("Wal-Mart"), seeking compensatory and punitive damages for mental anguish and for the damage to their property caused when their automobile, which had been serviced by Wal-Mart, caught fire; the fire destroyed the car and the Bowerses' house and its contents. The Bowerses asserted claims of negligence, wantonness, breach of warranty, and negligent training and supervision. Following a trial, the jury returned a general verdict for the Bowerses, awarding them $1 million. The court entered a judgment on that verdict. Wal-Mart appeals from the trial court's order denying its motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, for a new trial, or for a remittitur. Because the trial court erred in submitting Tony Bowers's request for mental-anguish damages to the jury, we reverse and remand.
I.
On October 28, 1995, Ann Bowers took her car to the Wal-Mart store in Enterprise to have the oil changed and the tires rotated and balanced. Wal-Mart employees performed these services, and Wal-Mart gave Mrs. Bowers an express warranty for the work. Mrs. Bowers drove home, parked the car in the garage, and turned it off. Black smoke was coming from under the hood of the car. After parking the car, Mrs. Bowers tried to start the engine, but it would not start. She then went inside her house and telephoned the police. When she returned to the garage, flames were coming from under the hood. She tried to put out the fire, but failed. She then telephoned her husband at work. The fire spread from the car to the house, which was in flames when Mr. Bowers arrived. The police and other emergency personnel arrived, but, ultimately, the fire destroyed the car and the house and its contents.
The Bowerses sued Wal-Mart, alleging that Wal-Mart had negligently or wantonly serviced their car and that its negligence or wantonness had caused the car to catch fire; that Wal-Mart had breached its express warranty to them; and that Wal-Mart had negligently or wantonly failed to properly train and supervise its employees or agents. The Bowerses sought compensatory and punitive damages.
The case went to trial in June 1998. At the Conclusion of the Bowerses' case-in-chief, Wal-Mart moved for a judgment as a matter of law. The trial court granted Wal-Mart's motion as to the Bowerses' claims alleging wantonness; their claim alleging negligent training and supervision; and their request for punitive damages. It also granted the motion as to Tony Bowers's claim alleging breach of warranty. The court denied Wal-Mart's motion as to the Bowerses' claim alleging that Wal-Mart negligently serviced the automobile; their request for mental-anguish damages; and Ann Bowers's claim alleging breach of warranty. At the close of all the evidence, Wal-Mart renewed its motion for a judgment as a matter of law on the Bowerses' request for mental-anguish damages. The trial court denied that motion. The court submitted the case to the jury on the Bowerses' claim of negligent servicing and Ann Bowers's claim of breach of warranty; on both of those claims, the court allowed the jury to consider the Bowerses' request for mental-anguish damages. The jury returned a $1 million general verdict in favor of the Bowerses. Wa
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