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Kirk v. Ford Motor Co.6/23/2005
2005 Opinion No. 81
The judgment entered in the district court is affirmed.
Grant R. Kirk & Roger Humphrey (the Kirks) appeal from a judgment entered pursuant to a jury verdict in favor of Ford Motor Company (Ford) in a product liability suit involving a 1991 Mazda Navajo. Ford cross-appeals.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BANKGROUND
On July 19, 1999, Kyle R. Kirk (Kyle) was driving westbound on Interstate 90, a paved highway in Spokane County, Washington. He was apparently traveling about 85 miles per hour when the 1991 Mazda Navajo he was driving drifted onto the shoulder of the road. Bret A. Humphrey (Bret), was a passenger in the front seat, and Stacey Wagner (Stacey), was a passenger in the rear seat. Apparently, Bret, the front seat passenger, grabbed the steering wheel and attempted to correct the path of the vehicle, but the vehicle swerved out of control and rolled over. Kyle and Bret were ejected from the vehicle and killed. Stacey was also ejected but survived with serious injuries. Less than twenty days prior to the accident, Kyle had purchased the used Navajo from a Ford dealership in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
On July 16, 2001, the estates of Kyle and Bret filed suit against Ford and Mazda Motor Company of America, Inc. (Mazda). The Kirks sued on theories of negligence, strict liability and failure to adequately warn the occupants of the vehicle's unreasonable propensity to rollover during foreseeable driving maneuvers. The Navajo was manufactured by Ford but marketed by Mazda. Because there were no material differences between the 1991 Navajo and the 1991 Explorer, Mazda was dismissed from the suit. The dismissal stipulated that the lawsuit would be tried as though the vehicle carried the Explorer name and no party would implicate Mazda in the litigation.
On June 11, 2003, the Kirks filed a motion in limine to preclude all evidence related to seatbelt use. The Kirks stipulated that they were not bringing any crashworthiness claims or allegations the vehicle's occupant restraint system was defective. The district judge granted the motion (Seatbelt Order). The Seatbelt Order prohibited the introduction of any information regarding the use or non-use of seatbelts by the occupants absent court approval through a supplemental motion or a hearing outside the presence of the jury. The Seatbelt Order also acknowledged that the litigation would not involve any crashworthiness claims.
On August 14, 2003, the Kirks moved to amend their complaint to add a claim for punitive damages. The district court granted the motion. The Kirks' amended complaint added punitive damages and spoliation claims. The spoliation claim alleged that Ford had intentionally destroyed internal data, referred to as ADAMS data, regarding the propensity of the 1991 Explorer to rollover. The Kirks subsequently moved to compel production of Ford Suspension Orders (Suspension Orders) issued by Ford's Office of General Counsel (OGC) concerning the handling of the ADAMS data.
The district court ordered an in-camera review of the Suspension Orders and denied the motion. The court allowed both parties to present direct evidence on the testing Ford had done and the destruction of the underlying ADAMS data but prohibited the parties from raising any issue at trial implicating the Suspension Orders. The Kirks stipulated to a dismissal of the spoliation claim as an independent cause of action.
On November 4, 2001, following the Kirks' case-in-chief, Ford moved for a directed verdict. The court denied the motion. At that hearing Ford indicated that it would call Edward Moffatt, Ph.D (Moffatt), a biochemist, as an expert witness, indicat
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