Barbara Durkee v. Geologic Solutions, Inc

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 1:09-cv-00449-MR-DLH Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999013168].. [12-1360, 12-1465]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 12-1360

BARBARA DURKEE; CAMELIA BUCHANAN; MICHAEL EARL DURKEE;
JACKIE NEWTON, Guardian ad Litem on behalf of C.D.; BARNEY
DURKEE; KENNETH BUCHANAN; SHIRLIE BUCHANAN, Guardian ad
Litem on behalf of D.B.; MARGIE GAIL DURKEE,
Plaintiffs - Appellants,
v.
GEOLOGIC SOLUTIONS,
Corporation,

INC.;

XRS

CORPORATION,

d/b/a

Xata

Defendants - Appellees,
and
DOMTAR CORPORATION; DOMTAR INDUSTRIES, INC.; DOMTAR PAPER
COMPANY,
LLC;
DOMTAR,
INC.;
PEOPLEASE
CORPORATION;
CORETRANS, LLC; N&W HOLDINGS, LLC; CH ROBINSON WORLDWIDE,
INC.; CH ROBINSON COMPANY,
Defendants.

No. 12-1465

JOSHUA BAILEY, individually and as co-executor of the
Estate
of
Haiden
William
Bailey;
AMANDA
BAILEY,
individually and as co-executrix of the Estate of Haiden
William Bailey,
Plaintiffs - Appellants,
v.

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GEOLOGIC SOLUTIONS,
Corporation,

INC.;

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XRS

CORPORATION,

d/b/a

Xata

Defendants - Appellees,
and
CARROLL JETT, Estate of; CORETRANS, LLC; MARLBORO WAREHOUSE
COMPANY; MARLBORO MILL; DOMTAR PAPER COMPANY, LLC; DOMTAR
INDUSTRIES,
INC.;
DOMTAR,
INC.;
DOMTAR
CORPORATION;
PEOPLEASE CORPORATION; N&W HOLDINGS, LLC; C.H. ROBINSON
WORLDWIDE, INC.; C.H. ROBINSON COMPANY,
Defendants.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Asheville. Martin K. Reidinger,
District Judge. (1:09-cv-00449-MR-DLH; 1:10-cv-00144-MR-DLH)

Submitted:

November 30, 2012

Decided:

January 2, 2013

Before GREGORY, SHEDD, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Steve R. Warren, LONG, PARKER, WARREN, ANDERSON & PAYNE, P.A.,
Asheville, North Carolina; James E. Ferguson, II, Lareena JonesPhillips, FERGUSON, STEIN, CHAMBERS, GRESHAM & SUMTER, PA,
Charlotte, North Carolina; Eugene Ellison, EUGENE ELLISON LAW
OFFICE, Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellants.
Brady J.
Fulton,
NORTHUP,
MCCONNELL
&
SIZEMORE,
Asheville,
North
Carolina, for Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
In these consolidated appeals, Appellants appeal the
district

court’s

orders

accepting

the

recommendations

of

the

magistrate judge, granting the motions to dismiss filed by Xata
Corporation
claims.

(“Xata”),

dismissing

their

product

liability

We affirm.
Appellants’

motor

and

vehicle

product

accident

on

liability

Interstate

claims
40

in

arose
North

from

a

Carolina.

Carroll Jett drove a fully loaded tractor-trailer into vehicles
that were slowed or stopped in front of him, causing injuries to
the Durkees and resulting in the death of the Baileys’ child.
Appellants alleged that Jett became distracted by the presence
of a

texting

system

located

in

the

cab

of

his

truck.

The

texting system had been manufactured by a subsidiary of Xata.
Appellants contended that Xata owed them a legal duty
of care because injuries to the traveling public were reasonably
foreseeable

based

on

the

texting

system’s

design

that

(1)

required the driver to divert his eyes from the road to view an
incoming text from the dispatcher, and (2) permitted the receipt
of

texts

while

the

vehicle

was

moving.

The

district

court

granted Xata’s motions to dismiss, 1 concluding that the accident

1

The Durkees and the Baileys mediated their claims with the
remaining defendants and ultimately filed a stipulation of
(Continued)
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was caused by the driver’s inattention, not the texting device
itself,

and

that

manufacturers

are

not

required

to

design

a

product incapable of distracting a driver. 2
On appeal, Appellants challenge the district court’s
conclusion that Xata owed them no duty of care.

Our de novo

review of the record leads us to conclude that the district
court properly dismissed Appellants’ claims.
Am.

Honda

Motor

Co.,

551

F.3d

218,

222

See Robinson v.
(4th

Cir.

2009)

(discussing standard of review); see also N.C. Gen. Stat. § 99B6(a)

(2011)

(providing

elements

to

prove

inadequate

product

design); Smith v. Wyeth-Ayerst Labs. Co., 278 F. Supp. 2d 684,
706

(W.D.N.C.

2003)

(providing

elements

of

product

liability

action based upon negligence); Kientz v. Carlton, 96 S.E.2d 14,
18 (N.C. 1957) (holding that duty owed by product manufacturer
“does not require him to guard against hazards apparent to the
casual observer or to protect against injuries resulting from

dismissal, that preserved their right to appeal the dismissal of
Xata.
2

Appellants complain on appeal that the magistrate judge
mischaracterized Jett’s conduct as “misuse” of the texting
system.
However, it is apparent from the magistrate judge’s
recommendations and the district court’s opinions that the term
“misuse” was intended to indicate improper or careless use of
the system by the driver, rather than a use that was unintended
by the manufacturer.

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the

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user’s

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own

patently

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careless

and

improvident

conduct”)

(internal quotation marks omitted).
Appellants also argue that the district court failed
to accept the allegations contained in the complaints as true.
We conclude that the district court properly construed the facts
in Appellants’ favor.

The court, however, was not required to

accept as correct the complaints’ legal conclusions.

Robinson,

551 F.3d at 222.
We
court.
legal
before

therefore

affirm

the

judgments

of

the

district

We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
contentions
this

court

are

adequately

and

argument

presented

would

not

in
aid

the
the

materials
decisional

process.

AFFIRMED

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