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Piper v. Bear Medical Systems11/18/1993
for a directed verdict on the issue of punitive damages should be granted if no reasonable jury could find the requisite evil mind by clear and convincing evidence. Thompson v. Better-Bilt Aluminum Products Co., 171 Ariz. 550, 558, 832 P.2d 203, 211 (1992).
Punitive damages may not be awarded absent a showing of "something more" than mere tortious conduct. Linthicum v. Nationwide Life Ins. Co., 150 Ariz. 326, 330, 723 P.2d 675, 679 (1986). Punitive damages are appropriate only where the defendant's wrongful conduct was guided by evil motives or wilful or wanton disregard of the interests of others. An "evil mind" may be shown by evidence that the defendant intended to injure the plaintiff or "consciously pursued a course of conduct knowing that it created a substantial risk of significant harm to others." Rawlings v. Apodaca, 151 Ariz. 149, 162, 726 P.2d 565, 578 (1986). Punitive damages are "undeserved as punishment" unless defendant acted with a knowing or culpable state of mind, or defendant's conduct was so egregious that an evil mind can be inferred. Gurule v. Illinois Mutual Life and Casualty Co., 152 Ariz. 600, 601, 734 P.2d 85, 86 (1987). A jury may infer an evil mind if defendant deliberately continued his actions despite the inevitable or highly probable harm that would follow. Id. at 602, 734 P.2d at 87.
Mr. Piper claimed punitive damages based on evidence that Bear knew of several accidents involving the Bear 1 and, at the time of trial, had failed to recall any Bear 1 or Bear 2 ventilators or to issue any warnings concerning the danger of the one-way check valve. However, between the time it was first manufactured and sold in 1982 and the date of Mrs. Piper's accident in 1985, Bear was unaware of any problems involving the Bear 2 expiratory arm or reversal of the one-way check valve on the Bear 2. The court applied punitive damages principles in Volz v. Coleman Co., 155 Ariz. 567, 748 P.2d 1191 (1987), a case involving similar facts to the case at hand. In Volz the plaintiff was injured when a stream of fuel ejected through the filler cap of a Coleman stove, crossed a campfire, ignited, and landed on plaintiff. There was evidence the manufacturer knew fuel could spray through the vent hole of the filler cap and knew of past, similar incidents in which this had occurred. Even after the vent-hole filler cap was replaced with a new design, several hundred thousand stoves possessing the vent-hole filler caps remained on the market, but the manufacturer never issued warnings; nor did it recall the stoves possessing this type of cap.
The court in Volz expressly rejected awarding punitive damages. The fact that a manufacturer continued to market a product was not itself enough to show the evil mind necessary for punitive damages. Id. at 570, 748 P.2d at 1194. The court found the case involved "negligence or even gross negligence," but it was not a case evidencing "something more," to justify punitive damages. 155 Ariz. at 571, 748 P.2d at 1195.
As in Volz, this case may involve negligence, but we believe Bear's conduct is even less worthy of justifying punitive damages. The evidence here was insufficient for reasonable persons to find the requisite evil mind by clear and convincing evidence.
Because of our resolution of the punitive damages issue, we need not address Bear's argument that the verdict was the result of passion or prejudice.
We set aside the award of punitive damages and affirm the judgment as modified.
McGREGOR and KLEINSCHMIDT, JJ., concur.
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