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Lloyd Dean States v. R.D. Werner Co.6/21/1990
In this product liability action, plaintiffs, Lloyd Dean States, Myrna States, and Niagara Fire Insurance Co., appeal the trial court's judgment entered on a jury verdict finding in favor of defendant, R.D. Werner Co., Inc. We affirm.
Plaintiff Lloyd States fell from a step ladder at a construction site. He had positioned the front feet of the ladder (those with the rails in which the ladder's steps are mounted) on a sidewalk and had placed the rear feet on the surface of an unfinished parking lot that was six to nine inches below the level of the front feet. This positioning was contrary to instructions for the proper use of the ladder which were affixed to the ladder itself.
He then climbed the ladder and turned on the steps with his back to them and leaned over toward the building to attempt to affix a sign to the building with a power wrench while the sign was being held in place by an overhead crane. He pressed against the sign with one hand and used his other to apply pressure on the power wrench. As he did so, the ladder moved away from him and he fell. Plaintiffs alleged that the cause of the accident was a defect in the aluminum rivets which secure the spreader bars that connect the front legs to the back legs of the ladder.
Plaintiffs brought this action under theories of strict products liability, breach of warranty, and negligence.
I.
The strict liability claim was based on the alleged product defectiveness. Plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that defendant could not be held legally responsible for Lloyd's injuries if his misuse of the ladder, rather than a defect, was the cause of his injuries. We disagree.
In Hiigel v. General Motors Corp., 190 Colo. 57, 544 P.2d 983 (1975), Colorado adopted the doctrine of strict products liability as set forth in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (1965). A Restatement § 402A action is premised on the concept of enterprise liability for casting a defective product into the stream of commerce. " he focus is upon the nature of the product, and the consumer's reasonable expectations with regard to that product, rather than on the conduct either of the manufacturer or of the person injured because of the product." Jackson v. Harsco Corp., 673 P.2d 363 (Colo. 1983). Thus, we have previously held that the concept of comparative negligence, as embodied in § 13-21-111, C.R.S. (1987 Repl. Vol. 6A), is inapplicable in a strict product liability case. Kinard v. Coats Co., 37 Colo. App. 555, 553 P.2d 835 (1976).
However, misuse of a product by the injured person is a recognized defense to a Restatement § 402A action. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A comment h (1965). The concept of misuse concerns an issue of causation and provides a complete defense to liability, regardless of any defective condition, if an unforeseeable and unintended use of the product, and not the alleged defect, caused the plaintiff's injuries. See Uptain v. Huntington Lab, Inc., 723 P.2d 1322 (Colo. 1986).
Plaintiffs argue that § 13-21-406(1), C.R.S. (1987 Repl. Vol. 6A) abrogates the holding in Kinard v. Coats Co., supra, and that the concept of comparative negligence is to be applied in all product liability actions. They assert that the instruction at issue here erroneously converts the statutory concept of comparative fault to a recovery bar, rather than a damage diminution remedy. We conclude that the instruction concerns an issue of causation and is not erroneous.
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