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Wood v. Old Trapper Taxi11/25/1997
Submitted on Briefs September 17, 1997.
Jarold R. Wood and his wife, Dara Wood, filed suit in the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, to recover damages as a result of injuries sustained by Jarold when a radio tower he was erecting collapsed. The Woods sued the above-named defendants and specifically sought damages against the manufacturers of the tower, UNR Industries, Inc., and Rohn, a division of UNR Industries, under product liability theories alleging a manufacturing defect and failure to warn. Defendants Old Trapper Taxi and James Hagen settled in full with the plaintiffs. The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant James Kozora, which has not been appealed by the Woods. Defendant KTCM was named as a party but was never served. The District Court also granted summary judgment in favor of UNR and Rohn and against the Woods which is the subject of this appeal. Defendants UNR and Rohn have cross-appealed from the District Court's denial of their motion to dismiss. We reverse in part and affirm in part.
The dispositive issues on appeal are:
1. Did the District Court err in granting summary judgment in favor of UNR and Rohn and against the Woods on their manufacturing defect claim?
2. Did the District Court err in granting summary judgment in favor of UNR and Rohn and against the Woods on their failure to warn claim?
3. Did the District Court err in denying the motion to dismiss filed by UNR and Rohn?
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Prior to 1965, UNR Industries, Inc., and Rohn, a division of UNR Industries (hereinafter the defendants) manufactured and sold a Model PT-64 radio tower. This tower was eventually sold in a used condition to James Kozora in Ohio, sometime between 1970 and 1972. The chain of ownership prior to Kozora is unknown. Kozora erected the tower in Sagamore Hills Township, Ohio, and apparently used it in connection with his ham radio. In 1975, Kozora disassembled the tower. In 1976, he moved from Ohio to Helena, Montana, and transported the tower to Helena in a U-Haul truck/trailer.
Upon moving to Helena, Kozora stored the tower in sections at his residence and never again assembled or used the tower. However, sometime after his arrival in Helena, Kozora sold the tower, along with guy wires, to James Hagen for $125. Hagen, the owner of defendant Old Trapper Taxi, purchased the tower with the intent to use it as part of a communications system for his business. Hagen took delivery of the tower and guy wires and stored the equipment inside his offices.
In the summer of 1990, Hagen hired plaintiff Jarold Wood, the owner of a Helena communications business, to erect the tower. On September 4, 1990, while attempting to erect the tower, Jarold was injured when he fell approximately forty-five feet due to the collapse of the tower.
The Woods filed suit in the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, on March 26, 1991. In their second amended complaint filed on September 3, 1993, they claim that the tower collapsed due to the failure of one of the legs which they allege had been altered and reinforced with a welded section of plumbing pipe and then painted over. Significantly, the Woods assert that the defendants performed this repair at their facilities prior to selling the tower. In addition, the Woods claim that the defendants were negligent and strictly liable for failing to warn or advise potential users that they should never attempt to erect the tower after it has been repaired or modified. The Woods further claim that the defendants were liable for failing to warn potential users that th
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