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Valk Manufacturing Co. v. Rangaswamy3/2/1988
The fatal collision giving rise to this litigation occurred on December 19, 1982. Dr. Srinivasa Rangaswamy, driving a Toyota automobile, attempted to exit from his housing development at West Kersey Lane in Montgomery County onto Falls Road. The intersection was controlled by a stop sign. A C & P Telephone Company truck was parked near the intersection at its northeast quadrant. The location of the truck was such that it inhibited the view of westbound traffic on Falls Road to motorists attempting to enter onto Falls Road from West Kersey Lane.
The Rangaswamy Toyota pulled up to the intersection of Falls Road and came to a stop. Prior to entering Falls Road, Dr. Rangaswamy purportedly looked both left and right. He then accelerated into the intersection directly into the path of a dump truck owned by Montgomery County. The vehicles collided.
At the time of the collision, the Montgomery County dump truck had a snowplow hitch mounted on its front. No snowplow was attached to the hitch, however. The hitch contained a steel lift arm measuring 20 inches in length. The lift arm projected 29 inches beyond the radiator and bumper of the truck. Movement of the lift arm was controlled by a hydraulic cylinder held in place by two 3-inch cotter pins. By removing the lower cotter pin, the lift arm would drop to a flush position.
When the vehicles collided, the lift arm protruded inside the Rangaswamy vehicle as the full force of the moving dump truck struck the left side of the Toyota at the driver's door. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Rangaswamy died of multiple injuries to the head and chest.
The appellees, Radha Rangaswamy (widow of Dr. Rangaswamy) and her minor child Arum Rangaswamy, brought this action for the wrongful death of Srinivasa Rangaswamy. The appellees filed suit against several different parties. Two defendants, C & P Telephone Company and Montgomery County, were sued under theories of negligence. A third defendant, Valk Manufacturing Company, the appellant here, was sued under theories of negligence and strict liability in tort. Valk was the manufacturer of the snowplow hitch which was attached to the Montgomery County dump truck. Valk, in turn, filed a cross-claim against Montgomery County.
Prior to trial, the appellees settled their case against C & P Telephone Company. The appellees received $250,000 in exchange for giving the telephone company a joint tort-feasors release. The appellees' case against the County and Valk Manufacturing went forward. At the conclusion of the appellees' case-in-chief, a motion for judgment was granted in favor of Montgomery County. A motion for judgment was also granted in favor of the County on the cross-claim of Valk Manufacturing. The trial judge ruled that the deceased was contributorily negligent as a matter of law. The case proceeded to the jury on the strict liability count against Valk Manufacturing, at that point the sole remaining defendant. A jury verdict in the amount of $2,500,000 was returned against Valk. Valk's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a motion for new trial was denied.
Upon this appeal, Valk raises the following five contentions:
1) That the trial court erred in failing to grant appellant's motion for judgment and/or motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict where appellees failed to
make a prima facie showing of liability under the doctrine of strict liability as applied in Maryland;
2) That the trial court erred in failing to grant appellant's motion for judgment and/or motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict where the evidence established the deceased's assumpti
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