Opinion ID: 2616264
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sufficiency of Evidence Against Ford

Text: We may more quickly dispose of Ford's claims that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding that brake failure caused the accident. (5) We do not reweigh the evidence on appeal, but rather determine whether, after resolving all conflicts favorably to the prevailing party (e.g., Stevens v. Parke, Davis & Co. (1973) 9 Cal.3d 51, 63-64 [107 Cal. Rptr. 45, 507 P.2d 653]; Nestle v. City of Santa Monica (1972) 6 Cal.3d 920, 925 [101 Cal. Rptr. 568, 496 P.2d 480]), and according prevailing parties the benefit of all reasonable inferences (e.g., Overton v. Vita-Food Corp. (1949) 94 Cal. App.2d 367, 370 [210 P.2d 757]), there is substantial evidence to support the judgment. (E.g., Crawford v. Southern Pacific Co. (1935) 3 Cal.2d 427, 429 [45 P.2d 183].) (6) Applying these principles, we find the evidence against Ford meets the requisite standard. Ford's claims of insufficiency center upon its contention that plaintiffs' experts lacked a sufficient foundation from which to conclude that brake fluid vaporization had produced a brake loss. To the contrary, there was a perfectly adequate basis upon which plaintiffs' experts could and expressly did, form their opinions. The links in the reconstructive chain were: it was undisputed that the Hasson vehicle's brake fluid would vaporize at a temperature as low as 275° -280° F.; if it did vaporize, the result (in a single-master cylinder system) would be the virtually complete loss of braking action which plaintiffs described as having occurred; and it was possible for such temperatures to be generated in the vehicle's use. The record included evidence that air temperatures were warm on the day of the accident, which would tend to diminish the cooling effect of ventilation of the brakes. The driving pattern was stop-and-go over hilly terrain, meaning frequent application of the brakes, plus the additional buildup, or soak up, of heat which occurs when already warm brakes are allowed to stand momentarily without ventilation. Plaintiffs' experts pointed to characteristics of disc brakes in general, as well as specific features of the 1966 Lincoln's brake system design in particular, which they believed would contribute to the buildup of heat under such conditions. Moreover, the symptoms described by the passengers and other witnesses  the apparent sudden, complete loss of pedal pressure (supported by the absence of skid marks) and return of pedal within 45 minutes after the accident (confirmed by investigating officers)  were entirely consistent with plaintiffs' theory of the accident. And, though the testimony was in conflict, there was some indication by expert witnesses that after the accident they perceived evidence of heat damage on components of the Hasson vehicle's braking system. Ford elected not to dispute much of this evidence, suggesting rather, that the entirety of the evidence, including the results of its own tests, was more consistent with the probability of driver error as the sole cause of the accident. The jury, of course, was not compelled to accept Ford's view simply because more than one inference could reasonably be drawn from the record. So long as the foundation for the opinions of plaintiffs' experts was sufficient, as we think it was, the jury was entitled to consider those opinions in forming its own conclusions. It was the function of the trier of fact to weigh all the evidence and to draw any reasonable inferences it found warranted. We think the inferences here drawn were reasonable. That the evidence might also have supported Ford's version of the accident is irrelevant on appeal. We therefore hold that there was sufficient evidence to support a determination that fluid vaporization was a proximate cause of the accident.