Opinion ID: 1163229
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Propriety of summary judgment based on obviousness of danger

Text: Summary judgment was appropriate, therefore, if there was no dispute from the evidence that River and Sea could reasonably have expected Maddox to be aware of the tongue-weight and the danger it posed without any warning from River and Sea. See Andrulonis v. United States, 924 F.2d 1210, 1222 (2d Cir.1991), vacated, 502 U.S. 801, 112 S.Ct. 39, 116 L.Ed.2d 18 (1991), result reinstated, 952 F.2d 652 (2d Cir.1991), cert. denied, 505 U.S. 1204, 112 S.Ct. 2992, 120 L.Ed.2d 869 (1992) (inquiry into obviousness of danger depends not upon actual knowledge of user but upon whether the danger was sufficiently obvious that it would be unreasonable to impose a duty to warn upon the supplier). If so, the risk posed by the boat-trailer combination was obvious and Maddox properly bears responsibility for any injury he suffered in assuming it. A review of the evidence leads us to conclude that summary judgment could not properly be granted on this basis. Maddox testified at his deposition that he did not feel the full force of the tongue-weight until he removed the tongue from the hitch. At that point he had no choice whether to lift the tongue, as he already bore its full weight. River and Sea presented no evidence suggesting that Maddox would have been aware of the magnitude of the tongue weight before he removed the tongue from the hitch. [8] Thomson testified during his deposition that tongue-weights vary substantially even between boats of similar length, and that it is quite difficult to predict how heavy a boat-trailer combination will be. The Paulk affidavit suggested that the proper tongue-weight of the boat-trailer combination sold to Maddox would be between 80 and 159 pounds. Drawing all inferences in favor of Maddox, reasonable minds could differ based upon this evidence as to whether Maddox should have appreciated the risk of injury before lifting the tongue. Weight is generally obvious to a person lifting an object directly from the ground, before one actually lifts the object. However, the tongue-weight of the boat-trailer combination is largely determined by the placement of the axle of the boat trailer. Accordingly, the weight of this object was not obvious in advance. Moreover, the tongue-weight was partially borne by the hitch as Maddox removed it. The evidence leaves in material dispute the question whether Maddox could reasonably be expected to realize the hazards associated with lifting the trailer. Under these circumstances, summary judgment should have been denied. The danger of injury inherent in detaching the trailer manually was not sufficiently obvious to relieve River and Sea of any duty to warn Maddox of the weight of the combination. [9]