Opinion ID: 1498002
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: alterations by hopkins

Text: Hopkins bought the Chevrolet truck new on August 24, 1970. The first malfunction of the carburetor mentioned above occurred in the Spring of 1971. A few weeks after that occurrence Hopkins removed the GM carburetor and put a Holley carburetor on his truck. He kept the Holley on the truck for about a week and then removed it and reinstalled the original GM quadrajet carburetor. The accident occurred in June of 1971. GM contends that if the carburetor did malfunction, it was because of Hopkins' alterations in the process of his removal and reinstallation of the GM carburetor. Eleven changes are named in the Court of Civil Appeals opinion, 535 S.W.2d 880, and include the use of improper bolts and hoses and clamps, etc. The jury found that the manner in which Hopkins reinstalled the carburetor constituted a misuse [2] of the vehicle and that such misuse was a producing cause of the accident. These findings were disregarded by the trial court because, as stated in its judgment, they were without any support in the evidence and were immaterial to the establishment of any defense. The Court of Civil Appeals found evidence to support the causal connection of only one change made by Hopkins in and around the carburetor. That Court pointed to the testimony that when the choke rod was disconnected the choke could be `blown open' under such circumstances that the lock-out pin could be positioned on top of the lock-out lever with the secondaries open and concluded that the jury was entitled to find that the disconnected choke rod was a contributing factor in the malfunction of the carburetor system. 535 S.W.2d 887. GM attempted to explain the accident in several ways. First, it said that the truck was simply driven too fast to negotiate the sharp turn. Neighbors in the area of the mishap testified to the noise made by the truck on the road before it reached the curve. Then GM offered some evidence which suggested that the Holley carburetor was still installed on the truck at the time of the accident. Finally and at great length, GM experts testified about the changes made by Hopkins in the reinstallation of the carburetor and how these changes might have been a factor in causing the accident. Almost all of this testimony tells of the possibilities of what could have happened. There is not the slightest suggestion that these changes could have played any role in the loss of control of the vehicle and its overturning apart from the uncontrolled racing of the engine described by Hopkins and the driver. The only explanation to be found in the evidence of this racing of the engine is the malfunction of the carburetor. No explanation is given which would permit common experience or knowledge apart from expert testimony to determine the reason for the malfunction of the carburetor. The jury and court must therefore depend upon the explanations and opinions of the experts. Under these circumstances testimony of a possibility without any opinion of the reasonable probability would not support a finding of causal connection. Webb v. Western Casualty & Surety Co., 517 S.W.2d 529 (Tex.1974). All of the testimony about the possibilities (the blowing open of the choke because the rod was not connected or the binding of the valves because of protruding gasket or misalignment due to uneven pressure of the bolts after reinstallation, etc.) was admissible on the primary issue of the causal connection between an original defect of the product and this accident. For that matter, the evidence was admissible on the issue of causal connection between Hopkins' alterations and the accident. Even if it may not be construed as an opinion that the two were probably related, the testimony is surely relevant. See Otis Elevator Co. v. Wood, 436 S.W.2d 324, 331 (Tex.1968). The testimony in this record about possible causes, while relevant, is no more than speculation and conjecture as to what occurred at the time of the accident and cannot alone support a finding that there was a causal connection between the misuse and the accident. Insurance Company of North America v. Myers, 411 S.W.2d 710 (Tex. 1966). If the manufacturer or supplier of a dangerously defective product is to relieve himself of all or part of the liability for damages caused by the defect, then he must prove the cause-in-fact connection of any misuse or alteration by the same standard as the user faces in connecting the product defect and his damages. At one point in the presentation of GM's defensive evidence, the witness went further. The witness Arthur Van Stetlandt stated without qualification his opinion that if the lock-out pin did hang above the lockout lever, it was because the driver made an attempt to feed the engine and the misposition of the thermocoil cover (backwards and upwards) interfered with the operation of the lever. This is legally sufficient evidence of the cause-in-fact connection between the alteration and the accident. We have here then a case where an original product defect and the misuse of the product by the plaintiff-consumer concur to cause the damaging event.