Opinion ID: 328550
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Factors Pertinent to GM's Gross Abuse Defense

Text: 71 The Government's motion and appeal papers attack GM's gross abuse defense as unsubstantial but, while its points may well have considerable force at trial, they do not conclusively show that there is no need for a trial. The Government's points relate to a cluster of factual issues bearing on what constitutes gross abuse under the facts of this case. 72 1. The first issue is what the Truck owners reasonably understood to constitute the specified loading limitation. GM contends that the owner's manuals which accompanied these vehicles in 1960-65 adequately informed the owners of the load limits of the Kelsey-Hayes wheel. 122 Charts in the manual setting forth the tire capacity at various inflation pressures indicated a maximum load of 1520 lbs. for the 7.00 x 15 6-ply tire, 1800 lbs. for the 7.00 x 15 8-ply tire, and 2060 lbs. for the 7.50 x 15 8-ply tire. GM's position seems to be that it is these specifications of permitted use (in a range of 1520-2060 lbs. per tire) that identify the starting point for measuring abuse that could reasonably be anticipated. 123 And GM further asserts that it could not reasonably have anticipated that the Trucks equipped with Wheels would be used to carry large cab-over campers. It submits an affidavit stating that both the number and the size of campers purchased grew dramatically in the mid-1960's and suggesting that it was this unexpected development that resulted in the overloading of Trucks and consequent Wheel failures. 124 73 The Government vigorously disputes the adequacy of the load warnings, contending that the information supplied by GM to truck owners led many of them reasonably to conclude that their trucks were suitable for loads of 7500 lbs. and were designed to carry large cab-over campers. First, the Government notes that the GVW plate permanently affixed to each Truck read Maximum GVW Rating 7500 lbs. 125 Although the plate also stated that Equipment and Tires for Gross Vehicle Weight Ratings are Listed in Load Capacity Chart in Owner's and Driver's Manual, the Government argued that this did not alleviate the misunderstanding because the GVW charts in the manuals contained entries for a number of wheel-tire combinations but did not contain any entries for the 15 Kelsey-Hayes wheels, and therefore would not have specified to an owner reading the manual that those wheels produced a GVW less than the 7500 lbs. shown on the plate. 74 The only charts in the manual containing data for 15 Wheels were tables headed Tire Inflation Tables for Highway Service. 126 The Government points out that an owner would not be alerted that there was vehicle loading information in these crucial tables either by the tables' caption or by a pertinent index entry. 127 Finally, an owner was not informed how to translate the maximum tire capacity shown by the table into gross vehicle weight. Thus, an owner might simply and naturally make the computation revealed in an affidavit of record, that is multiply the tire capacity by four. 128 If we use the 1800 lbs. figure for a 7.00 x 15 8-ply tire, the multiplication yields a figure of 7200 lbs. 20% above the 6000 lbs. figure that is produced by correct engineering calculations not set forth in the manual. 75 Reports contained in Part III of the Investigation Report and the affidavits submitted in support of the summary judgment motion reveal that a substantial portion of owners experiencing Wheel failures understood from the GVW plate that their Truck's GVW was 7500 lbs. 129 Indeed, many owners reported that appellant's dealers informed them that the GVW was 7500 lbs. 130 76 As to the use of Trucks with large cab-over campers, the Government points to information supplied to purchasers as indicating that such use was foreseeable. The Chevrolet brochure for the 1965 model year 131 shows a Series 20 pickup truck equipped with a cab-over camper and towing a sizable motorboat. 132 Furthermore, owner reports and affidavits relate that some dealers sold Trucks with campers already installed and many dealers assured purchasers that the Trucks equipped with Wheels were suitable for the purchasers' large cab-over campers. 133 77 2. Related to the dispute over the maximum load limits that owners should reasonably have understood as specified for their Trucks is the question of the amount of deviation from this figure which GM should have anticipated in designing the Wheel. During the administrative proceedings, a GM vice-president stated that the Wheel was designed to accommodate a reasonable overload of 15 percent and a reasonable extra tire pressure of about 15 lbs. 134 However, experts presented by consumer interests (as amicus curiae) at the September 30, 1970, meeting indicated that in their opinion the 15 percent margin did not include a safety factor adequate for reasonably-to-be-expected factors expected moderate overloading and overinflation of tires, and variations in manufacturing and fabrication. 135 78 3. Another set of unresolved issues concerns the length and extent of overloading required to cause cracks in the Wheel capable of producing a failure at a later point under even subnormal loads. Both the Government and the District Court placed great emphasis on a GM statement that a brief period of excess loading can cause a crack to occur in a wheel (which) . . . may develop to the point of wheel failure with further use of the truck. 136 This broad statement about wheels in general was later modified by GM in a letter to the Government agency, using language to the effect that short-term abnormally high loadings or a brief period of substantial excess loading could cause a crack to occur in a wheel. 137 79 The GM statements raise the issue whether there are separate problems of short-term peak overloading and sustained ordinary overloading. A higher, short-term margin of safety might be required of the manufacturer in view of the foreseeability of one or more brief periods of peak excessive loading during the lifetime of many of the Wheels.