Case Title: Veal v. Teleflex Inc.

Citation: 586 So. 2d 188

Docket Number: 

State: alabama

Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Date: 1991-08-23T00:00:00Z

Document:
586 So. 2d 188 (1991)
Larry VEAL, as administrator of the Estate of Larry Randal Veal, deceased
v.
TELEFLEX, INC., et al.
James D. STIDHAM, as administrator of the Estate of James E. Stidham, deceased
v.
TELEFLEX, INC., et al.
MERCURY MARINE, a DIVISION OF the BRUNSWICK CORPORATION
v.
Larry VEAL, as administrator of the Estate of Larry Randal Veal, deceased.
MERCURY MARINE, a DIVISION OF the BRUNSWICK CORPORATION
v.
James Donald STIDHAM, as administrator of the Estate of James Edwin Stidham, deceased.
88-1605, 88-1606, 88-1661 and 88-1662.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
August 23, 1991.
Steve A. Baccus and J. Michael Tanner of Almon, McAlister, Ashe, Baccus & Tanner, Tuscumbia, for appellants, cross-appellees Larry Veal and James Donald Stidham.
*189 John W. Clark, Jr., Anthony N. Fox and Amy K. Myers of Clark & Scott, Birmingham, for appellee, cross-appellant Mercury Marine.
Daniel G. McDowell, Russellville, and Francis P. Manchisi, New York City, for appellee Teleflex, Inc.
N. Price Nimmo and Richardson R. Lynn, Nashville, Tenn., and William Bedford, Russellville, for appellee Marine Group, Inc.
ADAMS, Justice.
These wrongful death cases arise out of a boating accident that occurred on September 1, 1986, on Bear Creek Lake in Northwest Alabama. The administrators of the estates of James E. Stidham and Larry Randal ("Randy") Veal appeal judgments on jury verdicts of $15,000 each against Teleflex, Inc., the manufacturer of the steering system on the boat in question, and judgments in favor of Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation, successor to Maidencraft Mercury Marine, the manufacturer of the motor and the propeller, and Marine Group, Inc., the manufacturer of the bass boat involved in the accident.
On September 1, 1986, James E. Stidham and Randy Veal, who was partially paralyzed, were passengers in a bass boat owned and operated by Harold Frederick. The three men were planning to do some bass fishing on Bear Creek Lake, and were heading for their fishing spot when, the plaintiffs say, the steering system on the bass boat broke, causing the boat to begin "end swapping." All three of the men were thrown from the boat, and the boat began to move in a tight circle at a very slow rate of speed. Veal, who was not wearing a life jacket, drowned, and Stidham, the plaintiffs say, was decapitated by the propeller of the motor. Frederick was not harmed, and was rescued by someone in a nearby boat.
The administrators of the decedents' estates filed wrongful death suits against Teleflex, Inc., Mercury Marine, and Marine Group, Inc., alleging liability under the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine ("AEMLD"), negligence and wantonness.[1] The trial judge refused to charge the jury with regard to negligence or wantonness, but did instruct the jury as to the AEMLD. The jury returned verdicts in favor of the decedents' estates and against Teleflex in the amount of $15,000 each, and verdicts in favor of the other defendants.
The record indicates that Frederick bought the boat in question from Dr. Jack Langston, who had made several alterations to it in order to increase its speed. Langston had installed a "jack plate" on the back of the boat that enabled him to raise the motor on the boat, and, later, he had replaced the jack plate with a piece of wood and aluminum that allowed the motor to be lifted even higher. The appellees contend that these alterations were dangerous because, they say, when the engine was tilted forward it interfered with the steering system, which Langston also had installed himself.[2]
The steering system on the boat consisted of two steering cables, each capable of steering the boat independently of the other. Prior to the accident in question, one of the steering cables had become inoperative; the plaintiffs say this was because of corrosion due to ultraviolet degradation of the cable. The bracket holding the second steering cable in place had, at some point, been broken, but the cable was still working. Frederick had not had the broken bracket replaced; instead, he had simply had it welded back together. When the accident occurred, Frederick was making a turn in the boat when, a witness said, a "small explosion, like a shotgun," occurred, evidently resulting from the breaking of the welded bracket; the breaking of the bracket rendered the second steering cable inoperative. The passengers were thrown *190 overboard, resulting in the deaths of Stidham and Veal. The plaintiffs contend that if the first steering cable had been functional, the accident would not have happened; therefore, they argue, its failure was a proximate cause of the accident. Teleflex contends that the accident did not occur as a result of corrosion of the inner core of the inoperative steering cable. Instead, it claims that a bend found in the first cable after the accident occurred during the accident because, Teleflex argues, the type of bend in the cable was inconsistent with corrosion; however, Teleflex submits, the bend was consistent with the boat's having hit a submerged log.
First, the plaintiffs contend that the trial judge erred when he instructed the jury only with regard to liability under the AEMLD and refused to instruct the jury as to negligence and wantonness. In Casrell v. Altec Industries, Inc., 335 So. 2d 128, 134 (Ala.1976), we stated that the AEMLD is a fault-based concept and that "a manufacturer, or supplier, or seller, who markets a product not reasonably safe when applied to its intended use in the usual and customary manner, [is committing] negligence as a matter of law." Casrell, at 132. We further stated:
*191 Casrell v. Altec Industries, Inc., 335 So. 2d  at 131.
Casrell, supra, at 132. The substance of the complaint against Teleflex was that it placed into the stream of commerce a product that was unreasonably dangerous for its intended use. This is a claim under the AEMLD, and the trial court did not err in refusing to charge the jury with regard to negligence and wantonness.
With regard to the claims against Mercury Marine, the successor to Maidencraft, Inc., which manufactured the motor and propeller in question, Stidham's estate claims that the trial court erred in refusing to charge the jury on negligence and wantonness. The plaintiffs contend that the motor decapitated Stidham after he was thrown overboard, and that the use of propeller guards would have saved his life. The plaintiffs contend that because there were several patents available for propeller guards, Mercury Marine was negligent or wanton in failing to utilize them on its boats. The sole question at issue, according to the plaintiffs, was whether propeller guards were feasible at the time of the accident. If so, then they contend that Mercury Marine was either negligent or wanton in failing to utilize them and this claim should have been submitted to the jury. We disagree. For the reasons stated above, the trial court did not err in refusing to charge the jury with regard to negligence and wantonness; in fact, in light of Beech v. Outboard Marine Corp., 584 So. 2d 447 (Ala.1991), the trial court should not have submitted the AEMLD charge to the jury with regard to Mercury Marine. In Beech supra, we stated:
Beech v. Outboard Marine Corp., supra, 584 So. 2d  at 450. (Emphasis added.) For the reasons stated above, the trial court did not err in refusing to charge the jury with regard to negligence and wantonness; in fact, in light of Beech, the trial court should not have submitted the AEMLD charge to the jury with regard to Mercury Marine.
The plaintiffs also argue that the trial court improperly coerced a verdict from the jury. It is their contention that the trial court had been told that the jurors were hopelessly deadlocked, and, yet, continued to send them back for further deliberation. The trial judge reinstructed the jurors with regard to the law and encouraged them to reach a verdict on several occasions, and the plaintiffs suggest that the language he used was tantamount to coercion.
The appellees, on the other hand, contend that the trial court's "Allen *192 charges"[3] do not warrant a reversal in this case. We agree. In this case, the jurors were never instructed that they had to return a verdict; rather, they were merely encouraged to continue deliberating as long as there was a possibility that they could reach an agreement on the case. The jurors were instructed "not to violate [their] conscience in any way," and we find no merit in the argument that the verdict was coerced.
We also find no merit in the plaintiffs' argument that the bass boat was defectively designed, and we will not address that argument here.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgments in these cases are hereby affirmed.
88-1605, AFFIRMED.
88-1606, AFFIRMED.
88-1661, AFFIRMED.
88-1662, AFFIRMED.
MADDOX, ALMON, SHORES, HOUSTON, STEAGALL, KENNEDY and INGRAM, JJ., concur.
HORNSBY, C.J., concurs in the result.
[1]  Veal's estate asserted no claim against Mercury Marine.
[2]  Langston, prior to selling the boat to Frederick, had also put black tape around the ends of the steering cables.
[3]  Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492, 17 S. Ct. 154, 41 L. Ed. 528 (1896).