Opinion ID: 471593
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exclusion of the Deposition Transcripts

Text: 18 At trial, plaintiffs sought to place in evidence the depositions of M. Pierre LeClerc, manager of K-Mart's in-house testing laboratory, Vernon Berels, an electronic lab technician for K-Mart, and Robert Bleakly, a senior automotive goods buyer for K-Mart. Plaintiffs' purported purpose in offering the LeClerc and Berels depositions was to show that K-Mart's in-house testing laboratory had never tested for contaminants the hydraulic oil used in the six-ton hydraulic jacks before offering them for sale. The district court excluded the depositions on the ground that plaintiffs had failed to make a threshold showing that any such failure to test for contaminants would amount to negligent testing. 19 Plaintiffs argue that the jury could have inferred that K-Mart's testing procedures were negligent because (1) two of plaintiffs' experts testified that the allegedly defective jack failed because of contaminated hydraulic fluid; (2) there was testimony that, for the proper operation of a hydraulic jack, it was vitally important that the hydraulic oil be clean and free of contaminants; and (3) the LeClerc and Berels depositions establish that, when K-Mart tested a sample six-ton hydraulic jack of the type purchased by Mr. Mello, K-Mart did not test the hydraulic fluid. We cannot say the district court erred in refusing to hold that this evidence, without more, created a jury question on the issue of negligent testing. First, plaintiffs' evidence would not even have established that the hydraulic fluid in the jacks had not been tested, as testing may have been performed on the jacks at the time of manufacture. Second, even if the evidence did indicate that the hydraulic fluid was not tested, plaintiffs presented nothing to establish either that it would have been reasonable or feasible for K-Mart to test the fluid in each jack, or, in the alternative, that a spot check of the jacks would have indicated a defect in the jack that actually failed. See 1 L. Frumer & M. Friedman, Products Liability Sec. 6.01, at 70.68-.72 (1985). 20 Moreover, even were we to assume that the district court erred in excluding the LeClerc and Berels depositions, their exclusion would be harmless error. In its answers to special interrogatories on the breach of warranty and strict liability counts, the jury found that K-Mart had not breached any implied warranty of merchantability by selling a jack that was defective, dangerous, and therefore not fit for its ordinary purpose, and that the jack was not in a condition unreasonably dangerous to the user. The jury determined, in effect, that the jack was not defective. 21 Under Tennessee law, a finding that a product is not defective precludes a finding that the seller or manufacturer is liable in negligence, so plaintiffs' cause would not have been furthered by the introduction of evidence that K-Mart was negligent in testing the six-ton jacks. See Browder v. Pettigrew, 541 S.W.2d 402, 404 (Tenn.1976) ([I]n a products liability action in which recovery is sought under the theory of negligence, the plaintiff must establish the existence of a defect in the product just as he does in an action where recovery is sought under the strict liability theory or for breach of warranty, either express or implied.); see also Witt v. Norfe, Inc., 725 F.2d 1277, 1279-80 (11th Cir.1984) (per curiam) (applying Florida law) (finding for defendant on breach of warranty and strict liability counts irreconcilable with finding for plaintiff on negligence count). Put another way, even if K-Mart were negligent in respect to its testing of the six-ton jacks that it offered for sale, that negligence could not have been the proximate cause of plaintiffs' injuries, because no amount of testing would have weeded out what, according to the jury, was a non-defective jack. 22 Plaintiffs offered the Bleakly deposition testimony for the alleged purpose of showing that K-Mart had control over the manufacture and labeling of the allegedly defective jack. The district court excluded Bleakly's testimony on the ground that it tended to show only that K-Mart had approved the labeling of the jack, and did not in any way establish that K-Mart had approved the process by which the jack was manufactured. 23 Plaintiffs do not challenge these reasons for excluding Bleakly's testimony, but urge for the first time on appeal that Bleakly's testimony should have been admitted on the ground that it was relevant to showing the testing procedures employed by K-Mart at the time the allegedly defective jack was manufactured and came into K-Mart's possession. Plaintiffs did not seek to have Bleakly's testimony admitted on this basis at trial, so we cannot consider this argument on appeal. See Tate v. Robbins & Myers, Inc., 790 F.2d 10, 12-13 (1st Cir.1986).