 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Schultz v. Ford Motor Co.2/21/2005
e noted:
presumption of law is not evidence nor should it be weighed by the factfinder as though it had evidentiary value. Rather, a presumption is a rule of law enabling the party in whose favor it operates to take his case to the trier of fact without presenting evidence of the fact presumed. It serves as a challenge for proof and indicates the party from whom such proof must be forthcoming. When the opponent of the presumption has met the burden of production thus imposed, however, the office of the presumption has been performed; the presumption is of no further effect and drops from the case.
McClain, 759 N.E.2d at 1101. Likewise, in Cansler, we commented that the "rebuttable presumption under 34-20-5-1 does not shift the burden of proof but it does impose upon the opposing party a burden of producing evidence. If the opponent produces evidence that rebuts the presumption, it serves no further purpose." Cansler, 765 N.E.2d at 705 (citations omitted).
Professor Tanford describes the significance of IC 34-20-5-1's governmental compliance presumption as follows:
This presumption helps the defense on summary judgment, but is of no importance at trial. A presumption relieves a party of the necessity to offer evidence on an issue for which the party bears the burden of proof. The product liability act places the burden of proof concerning defectiveness and negligence on the plaintiff. However the presumption does not relieve plaintiff of that burden. It relieves the defendant of having to prove absence of defect and absence of negligence-issues on which the defendant never had a burden of proof to begin with. Also, presumptions are considered rebutted when the opponent comes forward with contrary evidence. In a product liability action, the opponent of this statutory presumption is the plaintiff, who must come forward with evidence of defectiveness and negligence to rebut it. However, plaintiff must already come forward with evidence on these two issues to avoid judgment on the evidence. Until the judge rules that plaintiff has made a prima facie case, defendant has no obligation and no opportunity to present any evidence in its own favor. The product liability presumption is not triggered until the defendant presents proof of state-of-the-art design or compliance with safety codes, by which time the plaintiff will have already rebutted it in its own case-in-chief. The presumption has no practical effect.
Tanford, ยง 7.04 (emphasis in original). As Professor Tanford so clearly explains, the governmental compliance presumption helps Ford on a motion for summary judgment or a directed verdict, but an instruction explaining this presumption has no evidentiary value and no practical effect at trial.
Accordingly, the trial court erred in giving this instruction. Instruction 23 and Pattern Instruction 7.05(D) on which it was based create a permissive inference about which a jury could be instructed. However, they do not properly reflect the language of IC 34-20-5-1, which creates a mandatory presumption of substantive law. The rebuttable presumption of IC 34-20-5-1 is not evidence; instead, it should be used as guidance for the court and not as evidence for the jury. Instruction 23 is an incorrect statement of the law, and the trial court erred in giving it to the jury.
IV. Harmless Error
When a jury instruction incorrectly states the law, we assume that the erroneous instruction influenced the verdict and will reverse unless the verdict would have been the same under a proper instruction. Morgen v. Ford Motor Co., 797 N.E.2d 1146, 1156 (Ind. 2003); Wright, 774 N.E.2d at 895 (citing Canfield v. Sandock, 563 N.E.2d 12
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Indiana Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|