Opinion ID: 1209844
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Design of the Parasail Chair

Text: The parasail chair went through various design changes from its original design to the chair that was eventually shown to the jury. The original chair was designed by Mark McCulloh (McCulloh). [3] McCulloh did not appear at trial, but portions of his deposition were read to the jury. According to his deposition, McCulloh formed Enterprises for the purpose of manufacturing parasailing equipment. McCulloh was the sole employee and stockholder of Enterprises. McCulloh stated that the parasail chair sold to CPH consisted of a soft, canvas-like sling, which allowed the seat to form a pocket that fell below the frame of the chair (original pocket seat chair). According to McCulloh, a seatbelt was therefore unnecessary. In other words, a passenger seated in the pocket would hang below the frame of the chair and would have to lift himself or herself above the frame of the chair in order to exit the pocket seat. The original pocket seat chair, however, had been altered by Ribordy prior to the accident (accident chair). The accident chair did not have the soft, canvas-like sling. Instead, the pocket seat had been replaced with a hard Styrofoam seat. Ribordy also added six aluminum bars under and in back of the Styrofoam seat. Because of the alterations, the accident chair no longer formed a pocket, and, therefore, the passenger was no longer seated below the frame of the chair. After the accident, the accident chair was once again altered. According to Ribordy's testimony, after the accident he removed the six aluminum bars and added an additional cross bar across the front of the chair under the rider's knees. The styrofoam seat was also replaced with a pocket seat, which dropped below the frame of the chair when the canvas was stretched (altered chair). [4] Defendants do not dispute Plaintiffs' claim that Ribordy did not inform Plaintiffs or Bradley that the accident chair had been altered after the accident. Ribordy did, however, inform his own expert, Robert Kadlec (Kadlec), that he had changed the upholstery of the chair.