Joiner et al v. Genlyte Thomas Group, L.L.C.
Filing
177
MEMORANDUM OPINION re 176 Order on Motion to Dismiss. Signed by Senior Judge Glen H. Davidson on 2/21/12. (rel)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
EASTERN DIVISION
BENNIE MAC JOINER AND WIFE,
DEBRA R. JOINER,
PLAINTIFFS
AND
BCAM SELF-INSURER'S FUND
v.
INTERVENOR PLAINTIFF
CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:09-CV-00093-GHD-DAS
GENLYTE THOMAS GROUP, L.L.C.,
a/k/a DAY-BRITE CAPRI OMEGA
DEFENDANTffHIRD-PARTY PLAINTIFF
v.
SUBCON PRODUCTS, INC., d/b/a
PARAFLEX INDUSTRIES, INC.
THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT
OPINION DENYING THE THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS
OR, ALTERNATIVELY, FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Presently before the Court is the Third-Party Defendant's motion to dismiss or,
alternatively, for summary judgment [137]. Because the Third-Party Defendant has submitted
matters outside the pleadings which this Court shall not exclude, the motion shall be considered a
motion for summary judgment brought pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure. After due consideration of the record, rules, and authorities, the Court finds that the
motion should be denied.
A. Factual and Procedural Background
On April 9, 2009, the Plaintiffs Bennie Mac Joiner and his wife, Debra R. Joiner (the
"Plaintiffs"), filed this products liability action against Genlyte Thomas Group, L.L.C., also
known as Day-Brite Capri Omega ("Genlyte"). The Plaintiffs allege that Bennie Mac Joiner
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("Mr. Joiner"), an employee of Triplett Electric Company, was erecting a light pole at Golden
Triangle Regional Airport in Columbus, Mississippi, when three of the flood lights suddenly fell
from the overhead pole and struck Mr. Joiner's head, rendering him unconscious. The Plaintiffs
further allege that Genlyte was engaged in the business of designing, manufacturing, and selling
overhead lighting apparatuses, including the one at issue in this case. The Plaintiffs assert strict
liability claims under the Mississippi Products Liability Act (the "MPLA"), Mississippi Code §
11-1-63, based on defective design, failure to warn, and defective manufaCture, as well as
common law negligence and spoliation of evidence claims. At the time of filihg, the Plaintiffs
acknowledged their ignorance of any other opposing parties.
Discovery apparently revealed that a fractured bracket known as an integral slip fitter
("ISF") had caused the light fixture to fall. On August 18, 2010, Genlyte filed a motion for leave
of court to file a third-party complaint [92] against SubCon Products, Inc., doing business as
Paraflex Industries ("SubCon"). The magistrate entered an Order granting the motion [96].
Genlyte's third-party complaint against SubCon averred that (a) SubCon had designed,
manufactured, and sold the ISF to Genlyte; (b) Genlyte had incorporated the ISF as an assembly
component for its floodlights; and (c) SubCon was liable for any judgment rendered against
Genlyte in the underlying action.
On April 22, 2011, the Plaintiffs filed a motion for leave of court to amend the pleadings
and join SubCon as a party to the action [130]. The magistrate subsequently denied this motion
finding that relation back was not appropriate under Rule 15(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure. The magistrate's ruling was not appealed. Sub Con has now filed this motion to
dismiss itself as a party or, alternatively, for summary judgment [137].
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B. Standard ofReview
"If, on a motion under Rule 12(b)(6) or 12(c), matters outside the pleadibgs are presented
to and not excluded by the court, the motion must be treated as one for summary judgment under
Rule 56." FED. R. Cw. P. 12(d). Summary judgment "should be rendered if the pleadings, the
discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine
dispute as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as
!
matter of law."
FED. R. Cw. P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317,322-23, 106 S. Cli. 2548, 91 L. Ed.
2d 265 (1986); Weaver v. CCA Indus., Inc., 529 F.3d 335, 339 (5th Cir. 2008). The rule
"mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion,
against a party who fails to make a sufficient showing to establish the existence of an element
essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial."
Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S. Ct. 2548.
The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial responsibility of informing the
district court of the basis for its motion and identifying those portions of the record it believes
demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Id. at 323, 106 S. Ct. 2548. Under
Rule 56(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the burden then shifts to the non-movant to
"go beyond the pleadings and by ... affidavits, or by the 'depositions, answers to interrogatories,
and admissions on file,' designate' specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.' "
Id. at 324, 106 S. Ct. 2548; Littlefield v. Forney Indep. Sch. Dis!., 268 F.3d 275, 282 (5th Cir.
2001); Willis v. Roche Biomedical Labs., Inc., 61 F.3d 313, 315 (5th Cir. 1995). "The mere
existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiffs position will be insufficient" to
preclude summary judgment; instead, "there must be evidence on which the jury could
reasonably find for the plaintiff." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S. Ct.
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2505,91 L. Ed. 2d 202 (1985). Conclusory allegations, speculation, unsubstabtiated assertions,
and legalistic arguments are not an adequate substitute for specific facts showirtg a genuine issue
for trial. TIG Ins. Co. v. Sedgwick James of Wash., 276 F.3d 754, 759 (5th Cir. 2002); SEC v.
Recite, 10 F.3d 1093, 1097 (5th Cir. 1997); Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th
Cir. 1994) (en banc). It is well settled in the Fifth Circuit that "the nonmoving'party's burden is
not affected by the type of case; summary judgment is appropriate in any case 'where critical
evidence is so weak or tenuous on an essential fact that it could not support a judgment in favor
of the nonmovant.' " Little, 37 F.3d at 1075 (internal citations omitted).
C.
Discussion
The Third-Party Defendant SubCon has filed a motion requesting dismissal of Genlyte's
third-party complaint, or alternatively, for summary judgment on the issues of statutory notice
and lack of underlying liability under the MPLA. Because SubCon has attached to the motion
exhibits on matters outside the pleadings, including deposition testimony, this' Court will apply
the summary judgment standard.
Genlyte and SubCon agree that Genlyte failed to provide notice of the Plaintiffs' claim to
SubCon to sustain an indemnity claim under the MPLA, Mississippi Code § 11..1-63. However,
the two parties dispute whether Genlyte has a claim for indemnity against SubCon at common
law that, by definition, is not governed by the MPLA. SubCon contends that this products
liability action is exclusively governed by the MPLA and thus that any indemnity claim would
be required to fall within the purview of the MPLA. The specific legal question this Court has
before it is whether Genlyte may maintain a common law indemnity claim against SubCon
notwithstanding Mississippi's products liability statute.
In order to address the merits of
Genlyte's common law indemnity claim against Sub Con, the Court must address the Plaintiffs'
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common law negligence claim. Because this issue affects the viability of the Plaintiffs' common
law negligence claim, pursuant to Rule 56(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court
gave the parties notice that it was considering the viability of the Plaintiffs' common law
negligence claim and requested supplemental briefing from the parties.
The parties have
responded with vigor. The Court now turns to the question before it, first addressing the viability
of the Plaintiffs' common law negligence claim in this products liability action, and second,
addressing the viability of the indemnity claim brought by Genlyte against SubCon.
"The function of the Court is not to decide what a statute should provide, but to
determine what it does provide." Lawson v. Honeywell Int 'I, Inc. 11k/a Allied Signal, Inc., 75 So.
3d 1024, 1027 (Miss. 2011) (citing Russell v. State, 94 So.2d 916, 917 (Miss. 1957)) (emphasis
added). "If the words of a statute are clear and unambiguous, the Court
~pplies
the plain
meaning of the statute and refrains from using principles of statutory construction." Id. (citation
omitted). The statute entitled "Products Liability Suits" states that it applies "in any action for
damages caused by a product except for commercial damage to the product itself." MISS. CODE
ANN. § 11-1-63. This suit certainly seeks damages caused by a product and does not seek
damages for commercial damage to the product itself. However, "[t]he Court lOoks to the whole
of a statute to avoid adhering to one sentence or phrase of statute in a way that skews its true
meaning." Lawson, 75 So. 3d at 1029. The MPLA in toto "provid[es] true strict liability in
deviation/manufacturing defect cases, while employing what is essentially a negligence analysis
in design defect and inadequate warning cases." WEEMS, MISSISSIPPI LAW OF TORTS. "[W]hile a
negligence claim might be redundant in light of the MPLA, there is no clear ittdication that the
Mississippi Supreme Court would find negligence claims abrogated by the statute." Richardson
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v. West-ward Pharms., Inc., No. 5:09-cv-167, 2010 WL 3879541, at *2 (S.D. Miss. Sept. 28,
2010).1
The Plaintiffs in the case sub judice assert strict liability claims for defective design,
failure to warn, and defective manufacture, as well as a common law negligence claim. "[W]hen
a plaintiff claims defective design under the MPLA, a jury instruction on negligence is not
necessary ... because the risk-utility test {in the MPLA] requires the jury to reach a conclusion
about the manufacturer's conduct[;] the test is a version of Judge Learned Hjand's negligence
calculus. Therefore, ... a jury performing risk-utility analysis necessarily makes a negligence
determination." Hankins v. Ford Motor Co., No. 3:08-cv-639, 2011 WL 6180410, at *4-5 (S.D.
Miss. Dec. 13,2011) (quoting Palmer v. Volkswagon ofAmerica, Inc., 905 So. ,2d 564,599-600
(Miss. App. 2003) (internal quotation marks omitted)). See also Jowers v. BOC Group, Inc.,
2009 WL 995613, at *4 (S.D. Miss. Apr. 14, 2009) affd in part, vacated in part on other
grounds, and remanded sub nom., Jowers v. Lincoln Elec. Co., 617 F.3d 346 (5th Cir. 201 0)
(United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio judge sitting by designation in the
Southern District of Mississippi in a products liability case reviewed the relevant case law and
surmised that "the greater weight of the somewhat-mixed authority holds that negligence-based
claims of product defect [against a manufacturer] are abrogated by the MPLA.").
This Court finds that Plaintiffs' common law negligence claim in the Case sub judice is
repetitive of the defective design claim asserted under the MPLA, as it presents no new
discussion or claim of the defective design claim asserted under the MPLA, and as such, "relates
back" to the defective design claim. See McKee v. Bowers Window & Door Ca., 64 So. 3d 926,
1 The Northern District of Mississippi has held that in enacting the MPLA "the legislature did not intend
to abrogate the long established common law theory of negligence [with respect to warranty claitns] ...." and it was
"reasonable to presume the legislature did not intend to preclude that which was so prevalent in ;practice." Taylor v.
OM Corp., No. 1:96CVI79-B-A, 1996 WL 671648, at "'2 (N.D. Miss. Aug. 6, 1996); accord Williams v. Daimler
Chrysler Corp., No. 4:06CVI88-P-S, 2008 WL 2817097, at "'3 (N.D. Miss. July 18,2008) (titing Childs v. OM
Corp., 73 F. Supp. 2d 669, 672 (N.D. Miss. 1999)).
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933 (Miss. 2011) (in suit against window seller based on products liability and negligence
claims, examining negligence claim separately and finding negligence claim related back to
products liability claim).
However, the Plaintiffs' common law negligence claim is not repetitive of the
manufacturing defect claim asserted under the MPLA.
As the Plaintiffs pOint out in their
thorough and well-reasoned brief, their negligent manufacture claim based on common law
negligence principles presents a claim distinct from that of the manufacturing defect claim
asserted under the MPLA; the Plaintiffs allege that Gen1yte "breached its duty ~o manufacture a
reasonably safe product." PIs.' Mem. Resp. to Order [171] at 2. Such a claim does not track the
language of the MPLA and can exist alongside manufacturing defect claims brought under the
statute. The Fifth Circuit has determined under Mississippi law that "[t]he riSk-utility analysis
applies to design defect cases, not manufacturing defect cases." Leverette v. Louisville Ladder
Co., 183 F.3d 339, 342 (5th Cir. 1999). The Plaintiffs sum this up as follow$: "Design defect
claims under the MPLA require the consideration of negligence principles, but manufacturing
defect claims under the MPLA are based on classic, faultless strict liability in tort which does not
incorporate principles of negligence." PIs.' Mem. Resp. to Order [17]] at 8. The Court agrees as
to the viability of the Plaintiffs' common law negligence claims. The Co.rt now turns to
Genlyte's third-party indemnity claims against SubCon.
Genlyte has asserted third-party claims against SubCon pursuant to the MPLA,
specifically, Mississippi Code § ll-I-63(g), as well as "the doctrine of implied indemnity."
Third-Party CompI. [97]
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8. Genlyte maintains in its third-party complaint [91] that "[t]he ISF
at issue was designed, manufactured, and sold by [SubCon] to [GenIyte] who incorporated the
ISF as an assembly component for its floodlights." ld.
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6. In SubCon's anSWer to the third
party complaint [107], SubCon denies that it designed, manufactured, and sold the product to
Genlyte. Answer & Defenses to Third-Party CompL [107]
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8. Genlyte now contends in its
responsive briefing that discovery has revealed that SubCon "contracted with a Chinese foundry
to do the actual physical work of creating the part" and thus that Sub Con "mhy not even be a
'manufacturer' against whom the MPLA's indemnity provision would apply." . Genlyte's Resp.
to PIs.' Br. [172] at 3. SubCon contends that it is "a manufacturer, or at minimum, seller of the
product at issue." SubCon's Supplemental Mem. Authorities [173] at 5. The Court finds there is
a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether SubCon is the manufacturer of the product at
issue. The viability of the indemnity claims will depend in part upon whether SlIbCon is, in fact,
the product's manufacturer. Thus, this Court finds that the Third-Party Defendant SubCon's
motion to dismiss or, alternatively, for summary judgment [137] should be det!ried. The Court
will be willing to revisit this issue on summary judgment after it is determined who is the
manufacturer of the product at issue.
Therefore, Third-Party Defendant SubCon's motion to dismiss, or, alternatively for
summary judgment [137] is DENIED. A separate order in accordance with this opinion shall
issue this day.
It is SO ORDERED, this, the
r
~
JL day of February, 2012.
SENIOR JUDGE
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