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HUGHES v. MASSEY-FERGUSON9/21/1994
Appellant Thomas Hughes seeks a third trial in this suit for severe injuries he sustained while operating a combine manufactured by defendant Massey-Ferguson. The question on appeal is whether, as Hughes contends, the district court erroneously instructed the jury on a state of the art defense. Because we believe the issue was properly submitted, we affirm.
On the morning of October 7, 1986, Hughes was harvesting corn with a Massey-Ferguson [522 NW2d Page 295]
model 760 combine (MF760) purchased by his father in 1973. Trouble began when the six-row cornhead mounted on the front of the combine became clogged. Hughes was well aware of manufacturer warnings that the engine should be shut off before unclogging the head. He knew, however, that he could stop the machine's forward movement and, with the engine running, raise the cornhead to allow the mechanism to run and clear itself.
As the cornhead became clogged, Hughes noticed what he thought was smoke coming through the engine compartment. Fearing an engine fire, he felt he had to act quickly to determine the origin of the smoke. Instead of descending the cab steps and walking behind the combine to the engine compartment, he crossed the front of the machine by stepping over a guardrail surrounding the stair platform. With the engine running at full speed and the cornhead in the raised position, he placed his foot on the narrow three-inch rim of the cornhead's auger trough. As he took another step he lost his balance and fell into the auger. He was pulled into the "throat" of the machine, perilously close to the beaters, and ultimately lost his left leg.
Hughes sued Massey-Ferguson on theories of negligence and strict liability. A first trial, resulting in a jury verdict for Hughes, was reversed and a new trial ordered based on the court of appeals' finding that a jury question had not been engendered, and should not have been submitted, on the issue of strict liability. See Hughes v. Massey-Ferguson, Inc., 490 N.W.2d 75, 78 (Iowa App. 1992). Following retrial on the negligence claim only, the jury found that the combine and cornhead conformed to the state of the art for all specifications of negligence except adequacy of warning. It found that any fault from failure to warn, however, was not a cause of Hughes' injuries.
On this appeal following denial of Hughes' motion for new trial, he claims the court erred in submitting the state of the art instruction because (1) the evidence was insufficient to support such a defense, and (2) his specific allegations of negligence involved such simple devices that the concept of state of the art does not apply.
I. Sufficiency of the evidence.
Thomas contends that the expert evidence Massey-Ferguson put forth at best raised an issue regarding whether the combine and cornhead conformed to custom in the industry, not state of the art. Because the two concepts are not synonymous, Hughes claims the court erroneously instructed on an issue having no evidentiary support.
Our review is for the correction of errors at law. Sandhorst v. Mauk's Transfer, Inc., 252 N.W.2d 393, 399 (Iowa 1977). When considering whether evidentiary support for an instruction exists, we give the evidence the most favorable construction it will bear. Id. If the record contains evidence to support a party's theory of defense, the court's decision to so instruct the jury should not be disturbed on appeal. Id.
Iowa Code section 668.12 (1991) governs the state of the art defense. It provides that in any action brought against a manufacturer for damages arising from alleged defects in the design of a product, "a percentage of fault shall not be
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