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Keywords

lawsuittortnegligenceliabilityappealsummary judgmentstrict liability
tortplaintiffnegligenceliabilityappealsummary judgmentwillstrict liability

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Berrier v. Simplicity Mfg., Inc., 563 F.3d 38, Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 18,217

Facts

On May 7, 2003, Ashley Berrier, a minor, was injured when her grandfather, Melvin Shoff, backed a riding lawnmower over her leg while mowing the yard. The mower, a Simplicity Regent Model, lacked back-over protection features. Ashley's parents filed a lawsuit against Simplicity, claiming strict liability and negligence due to the mower's defective design, which did not include safety mechanisms to prevent such accidents. Ashley suffered severe injuries, resulting in the amputation of her left foot.

Wayne Berrier and Brenda Gregg are the parents of Ashley Berrier, a minor. On May 7, 2003, Ashley was visiting her grandparents at their home in Honeybrook, Pennsylvania. Her grandfather, Melvin Shoff, was mowing his yard with his Simplicity Regent Model riding mower. Shoff had purchased the mower new from a retailer in 1994.

Issue

Whether Pennsylvania's strict products liability law extends to a child who was injured as a bystander when her grandfather backed over her foot while using a riding mower that lacked 'back-over' protection.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has never expressly determined if one who is merely a bystander and not a user of a product can bring a products liability claim against a manufacturer to recover for injuries that occur while an intended user is using the manufacturer's product.

Rule

Under Pennsylvania law, a manufacturer may be held strictly liable for injuries caused by a defective product, and the question of whether a bystander can recover under strict liability has not been expressly determined by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

We predict that if the Pennsylvania Supreme Court were confronted with this issue, it would adopt the Restatement (Third) of Torts, §§ 1 and 2, and thereby afford bystanders a cause of action in strict liability under the circumstances here.

Analysis

The Court of Appeals analyzed the existing Pennsylvania law and determined that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court would likely adopt the Restatement (Third) of Torts, which allows bystanders to recover in strict liability cases. The court noted that the absence of back-over protection on the mower constituted a defect that could lead to liability, and that the manufacturer owed a duty to the child, even though she was not the intended user of the product.

The district court ruled that Pennsylvania strict products liability law does not permit recovery for injuries to anyone other than the intended user. Because Ashley was a bystander and not an intended user of the mower, she could not recover in an action against Simplicity.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals vacated the district court's summary judgment in favor of the manufacturer and remanded the case for further proceedings, allowing the parents to pursue their claims for strict products liability and negligence.

Accordingly, we will reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the manufacturer on the strict products liability claim. We will also reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the manufacturer on the plaintiffs' negligence claim.

Who won?

The Berriers prevailed in the appeal because the Court of Appeals found that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court would likely allow bystanders to recover under strict products liability, thus reversing the lower court's ruling.

The Court of Appeals, McKee, Circuit Judge, held that: 1 under Pennsylvania law, as predicted by Court, parents could recover from manufacturer, and 2 manufacturer owed child a duty.

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