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Molino v. B.F. Goodrich Co.12/18/1992
[261 NJSuper Page 89] Plaintiffs, Bruce Molino, and his wife, Nerina Molino, appeal from the Law Division's dismissal of their suit against defendant, Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company (Uniroyal), for injuries Mr. Molino suffered when a tire and rim assembly exploded on
June 19, 1987, while he was handling an inflated Goodrich tire that was mounted on a multi-piece rim manufactured by Firestone Tire & Rubber Company (Firestone). We reverse and remand.
Plaintiffs sued Uniroyal as the manufacturer of the tire; Firestone; Ford Motor Company, the manufacturer of the truck; the tire company which may have mounted the spare tire onto the rim assembly sometime prior to the accident; and other defendants including the garage where Molino suffered his injuries. Certain defendants, including Ford Motor Company, were granted summary judgments before trial. Before jury selection, the Judge granted Uniroyal's motion in limine to exclude evidence of warnings on tires manufactured after 1973, the date the tire in this case was manufactured. On the second day of trial, a settlement agreement was reached between plaintiffs and all remaining parties except for Uniroyal.
The trial continued against Uniroyal. Mrs. Molino testified that she had to constantly supervise her husband due to the fact that he suffered serious head injuries and brain damage from the accident. Molino took the stand but had no recollection of the events leading to the accident. Medical testimony revealed that his condition was unlikely to change.
On the liability issue, plaintiffs introduced expert testimony from Loren Forney. Forney outlined his extensive knowledge about tires and rim assemblies and testified that a warning should have been placed on the tire. The court, however, determined that Forney could offer no testimony concerning the language or adequacy of any warning because he admittedly had no background in ergonomics. Therefore, Uniroyal moved for a directed verdict and involuntary dismissal. The trial Judge granted the motion and this appeal followed.
Molino operated a landscaping and paving business from his home in Chatham. He purchased a used 1967 Ford dump truck with dual rear wheels for the business. The events leading to the accident are sketchy because of Molino's lack of memory.
It appears that on June 19, 1987, he drove the dump truck to Hickory Tree Garage to change a flat tire on the right rear of the truck. The spare tire, already mounted onto the rim assembly, was in the back of the dump truck when Molino arrived at Hickory Tree Garage.
The spare tire, a Goodrich 12 ply Silvertown Rib Logger, size 10.00-20, was approximately "chest" high. It was mounted on a Firestone "R" type multi-piece rim, manufactured in the 1930s. Three parts were involved in the rim assembly. The major part was the removable base rim. The remaining parts were the side ring and the lock ring which secure the rim assembly to the tire after the tire is put in place. Only after these parts are "locked in place" is air to be put "in the assembly." Uniroyal did not manufacture such rim assemblies. Molino suffered serious head injuries and the loss of an eye when the tire and rim assembly exploded after he attempted to affix the already inflated tire to the truck.
Both the tire and the rim assembly were admitted into evidence at trial. Plaintiffs' expert testified that nothing was wrong with the tire but that the fifty-five to sixty-year-old rim assembly was "[badly] rusted, corroded," the rivets were gone, and a piece of the lock ring was
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