Case Title: McKinnon v. F.H. Morgan & Co.

Citation: 170 Vt. 422, 750 A.2d 1026

Docket Number: 

State: vermont

Court: Vermont Supreme Court

Date: 2000-03-24T00:00:00Z

Document:
McKinnon v. F. H. Morgan & Co. (98-236); 170 Vt. 422; 750 A.2d 1026

[Filed 24-Mar-2000]

       NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to motions for reargument under
  V.R.A.P. 40 as well as formal  revision before publication in the Vermont
  Reports.  Readers are requested to notify the Reporter  of Decisions,
  Vermont Supreme Court, 109 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05609-0801 of
  any  errors in order that corrections may be made before this opinion goes
  to press.

                                 No. 98-236

Judy McKinnon	                                 Supreme Court

                                                 On Appeal from
     v.	                                         Franklin Superior Court

F. H. Morgan & Co., Inc., d/b/a	                 April Term, 1999
Center State Bicycles, Trek Bicycle Corp. 
and Shimano, Inc.

David A. Jenkins, J.

Matthew T. Daly of Doremus Associates, Burlington, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Susan J. Flynn and Joshua L. Simonds of Affolter Gannon & Flynn, Burlington, 
  for Defendant-Appellee F. H. Morgan & Co.

Douglas D. Le Brun of Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, P.C., Burlington, for 
  Defendant-Appellee Trek Bicycle Corp.

Walter E. Judge, Jr. of Downs Rachlin & Martin, PLLC, Burlington, for 
  Defendant-Appellee Shimano, Inc.

PRESENT:  Amestoy, C.J., Morse, Johnson, Skoglund, JJ., and Gibson, J. (Ret.),   
  Specially   Assigned

       MORSE, J.   Plaintiff Judy McKinnon is a Canadian citizen who was
  injured near her  home in Quebec when she fell off a bicycle her
  sister-in-law had purchased for her son in  Vermont.  She appeals the
  superior court's denial of her motion for partial summary judgment,  in
  which she asked the court to apply Vermont law to the issues of liability
  and damages in her 

 

  personal injury action against the retailer and manufacturers of the
  bicycle and its allegedly  defective components.  We conclude that the
  superior court correctly determined that Quebec law  should apply under the
  circumstances of this case, and accordingly affirm the court's decision.

       The material facts are undisputed.  Plaintiff is a Canadian citizen
  and a resident of Quebec.  In July 1992, plaintiff's sister-in-law
  purchased a Trek bicycle from defendant F.H. Morgan &  Company, a retail
  store doing business as Center State Bicycles in St. Albans, Vermont.  She 
  purchased the bicycle as a gift for plaintiff's son.  In June 1993,
  plaintiff brought the bicycle back  to F.H. Morgan for a tune-up and
  service.   On July 30, 1993, plaintiff was riding the bicycle two  blocks
  from her home in Quebec when one of the pedals "snapped off," causing her
  to fall and  injure her right hand.  She was treated for her injuries by
  various doctors and physical therapists  in Quebec over the following five
  months.  In connection with the ensuing litigation, plaintiff also 
  received treatment for her injuries in Burlington, Vermont in January 1996. 

       In July 1996, plaintiff filed suit in Vermont superior court, alleging
  negligence and breach  of contract against F.H. Morgan, and negligence and
  strict product liability against defendant Trek  Bicycle Corporation and
  defendant Shimano, Inc., the manufacturer of the pedal and crank shaft 
  components.  In response to the parties' cross-motions for partial summary
  judgment on the  choice-of-law question, the superior court ruled that
  Quebec law would apply at trial on all counts  to both liability and
  damages.  The court then granted plaintiff's motion for permission to
  appeal  its interlocutory ruling.  On appeal, plaintiff argues that Vermont
  law should apply to both her  contract and tort claims.

 (Page 3)

       This Court has adopted the Restatement (Second) of Conflicts for
  choice-of-law questions  in both tort and contract cases.  See Amiot v.
  Ames, 166 Vt. 288, 292, 692 A.2d 675, 677-78  (1997) (tort cases); Pioneer
  Credit Corp. v. Carden, 127 Vt. 229, 233,