Opinion ID: 771739
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: failed to exercise reasonable care to inform consumers of the danger.

Text: 25 Hollister, 201 F.3d at 741. 26 In addition, in a negligence action, a plaintiff must establish causation and damages. Where causation is lacking, the question of a duty to warn need not be addressed. Fisher v. Kawasaki Heavy Indus., Ltd., 854 F.Supp. 467, 472 (E.D. Mich. 1994). 27 We agree with the district court that Peck failed to make out this claim. Ludwig testified that he had no criticism of ROMI for not putting a warning on the machine to turn the power off. He also admitted that the power was not usually turned off when the lathe was being loaded. At the conclusion of his deposition when Ludwig was asked by the defendants if he had any other opinions, Ludwig said he did not believe so. Thus, on the whole, Ludwig's testimony amounted to a virtual admission that there was no duty to warn. Moreover, although Tortelli admitted that ROMI knew of the possibilityfor inadvertent activation, he also stated that the lathe had been designed in a way so that this would not happen. 28 After giving his deposition testimony, Ludwig signed an affidavit in which he said that a reasonable and prudent lathe designer should provide warnings if the design did not guard against inadvertent activation. However, Ludwig's affidavit is not cognizable for purposes of the summary judgment decision because it was made after the motion for summary judgment was filed and because it contradicts his earlier deposition testimony. According to Reid v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., 790 F.2d 453 (6th Cir. 1986): A party may not create a factual issue by filing an affidavit, after a motion for summary judgment has been made, which contradicts her earlier deposition testimony. 29 Id. at 460. 30 In the deposition, Ludwig stated that he had no criticism of ROMI for not putting a warning on the lathe to turn off the power and testified that he had no other opinions. But in his later affidavit, Ludwig states that it is the duty of a reasonable and prudent machine designer to give warnings. This plainly contradictory affidavit statement is not admissible, and thus Peck did not make out a claim on the failure to warn theory.