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Anderson v. Litzenberg5/28/1997
Opinion by Harrell, J.
Monteith Litzenberg, appellee, filed suit against John Anderson, David A. Bramble, Inc. (Bramble), and Cramaro Tarpaulin Systems, Inc. (Cramaro), appellants, for injuries sustained in a traffic accident. A jury in the Circuit Court for Cecil County (Cole, J. presiding) awarded appellee $349,400, including $213,000 for lost earning capacity. Appellants Anderson and Bramble base their appeal on an evidentiary ruling and a jury instruction. Appellant Cramaro perches its appellate contention on a different evidentiary ruling and the trial court's denial of a motion for new trial. Due to appellants' failure to preserve most of their appellate contentions for our review, and because those that were preserved are lacking in merit, we shall affirm the judgment of the circuit court.
ISSUES
Appellants Anderson and Bramble present the following questions, reordered and slightly rephrased as:
I. Did the trial court properly instruct the jury concerning spoilation of evidence?
II. Did the trial court err in admitting evidence as to the costs of hiring a replacement to perform work that appellee had personally performed prior to the accident in connection with his part-time residential real estate renovation and rental business?
Appellant Cramaro presents the following issues, rephrased as:
III. Whether the fact that the allegedly defective product was discarded before it could be examined or tested by an expert witness rendered any determination that an alleged design defect or negligence by Cramaro
caused or contributed to the accident erroneous.
IV. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying Cramaro's Motion for New Trial as to the future loss of earning capacity award.
FACTS
On 22 April 1993, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Mr. Anderson was driving a dump truck loaded with stone in Cecil County. At the time, Mr. Anderson was acting within the scope of his employment for David A. Bramble, Inc., a highway construction contractor. The truck driven by Mr. Anderson was owned by Bramble. To ensure that debris would not blow off from the truck bed, the truck was equipped with a tarpaulin load covering system manufactured and sold by Cramaro Tarpaulin Systems. This particular tarp system used a series of pulleys, cranks, and steel cables, enabling the operator to crank the tarp toward the front of the truck in an accordion-like fashion so that the truck could be loaded and unloaded. The cranking system could also extend the tarp over the truck bed to cover a load. Cramaro sold the tarp to Bramble approximately one year before the accident occurred. The tarp was installed onto the truck that Mr. Anderson was driving by Bramble personnel.
Mr. Anderson, while heading south on Maryland Route 213, approached a bridge spanning the C&D;Canal. At this time, the tarp system was extended to cover the load contained in the truck bed. As the truck began to traverse the bridge, Mr. Litzenberg, a twenty-two year old construction worker, was driving in a pick-up truck behind Mr. Anderson. While on the bridge, the tarp somehow became loose at the back of the truck bed and began to blow out into oncoming traffic. The tarp struck an oncoming vehicle, causing its driver to lose control. The oncoming vehicle crossed the dividing line and crashed, essentially head-on, into Mr. Litzenberg's truck. At the time of the accident, Mr. Litzenberg was employed full-time by his father's construction company and also worked part-time in his own rental property venture.
A state trooper who arrived at the scene after the accident testified at trial
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