Opinion ID: 772367
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Presence of Warning Labels When Pump Left Graco's Care and Control

Text: 30 In order to prevail on her failure to warn claim against Graco under the Act, Ritchie must show that the product in question was defective and that it was defective at the time it left the care and control of the defendant. Ritchie has certainly shown an issue of fact with respect to whether the product was in a defective condition at the time of her accident. Ritchie and several witnesses who observed the pump after the accident testified that it did not display any type of warning. For example, Redman employees Thulin and Brandenburger both testified that they did not remember seeing any type of warning on the pump Ritchie was using when the accident occurred. McCorkle testified that he specifically inspected the accident pump and did not see a warning label. He also testified that the pump was not covered with paint in such a way that an existing label would be illegible. 31 In order to survive a motion for summary judgment, however, Ritchie must show a genuine issue of fact not only as to whether the accident pump was defective (i.e., lacked warnings), but also as to whether the defect existed at the time the product left Graco's control. In addressing this issue, the district court properly recognized that the fact that several witnesses did not see warning labels on the accident pump on the day of the accident, when viewed in the light most favorable to Ritchie, leads to an inference that the pumps did not have warnings when they arrived at Redman's plant. According to the district court, however, this inference provides merely a 'scintilla of evidence' which provides only 'some metaphysical doubt,' as to the material facts. Ritchie v. Redman Homes, No. 1:98 CV 111, at 14 (N. D. Ill. 1999) (quoting Matsushita Elec. Inds. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S. Ct. 1348, 89 L. Ed. 2d 538 (1986); Adusumilli v. City of Chicago, 164 F.3d 353, 361 (7th Cir. 1998)). Thus, the district court found that Ritchie failed to show that the pump lacked warnings at the time it left Graco's control and granted summary judgment for Graco. 32 We agree with the district court that the fact that the pump did not have warnings on it at the time of the accident is not, in itself, enough for a rational juror to find that the pump lacked warnings at the time it left Graco's care and control. However, while Ritchie can not meet her burden merely by asserting that the pumps did not have labels on the date of her accident, nor is she required to produce an eyewitness who saw the accident pump leaving Graco's plant without a warning. If Ritchie can show that the pump arrived new at Redman without warnings, it would be reasonable for a juror to infer that it left Graco in that condition. 33 In order to show that the accident pump arrived at Redman without warnings, Ritchie must show that the accident pump was one of the two pumps that Pieri delivered in January. If the offending pump was not one of the pumps delivered in January, Ritchie clearly does not have sufficient evidence to show that the pump lacked warnings when it left Graco. Ritchie has put forth no evidence regarding the chain of custody of any pump other than the pumps delivered by Pieri in January of 1996. Without evidence of the events surrounding the arrival of the accident pump at Redman, it would not be reasonable for a juror to infer that it left Graco without warnings because a number of factors could account for missing warning labels. If, however, the accident pump was one of the two pumps delivered in January, a rational juror might find by a preponderance of evidence that the pump lacked warnings when it left Graco. A reasonable juror could determine that the short amount of time between the delivery of the pumps and the accident made it more likely than not that the pump left Graco's care and control without on-pump warnings. 34 Thus, our inquiry turns on whether Ritchie has presented a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the pump that she was using at the time of her accident was one of the pumps that Pieri delivered in January. The district court found that the accident pump was not one of pumps supplied by Pieri in January. This finding was primarily based on Pieri's testimony that the pumps that he delivered were cart-mounted pumps and the undisputed testimony of several employees, including Ritchie, that the accident pump was a drum-mounted pump. Unfortunately, the district court weighed the conflicting testimony and gave more weight to Pieri's statement than to the statements of other witnesses. 35 Pieri is the only witness who has stated that the pumps delivered in January were cart-mounted pumps, and he has not provided any additional evidence to support this contention. Neither Graco, Glidden, nor Pieri has produced any delivery records showing that the pump was cart-mounted. 7 Ritchie disputes Pieri's testimony that the pumps that he delivered a month before her accident were cart-mounted pumps. In making this claim, Ritchie does not simply rest on conclusory allegations, but instead sets forth specific evidence that brings Pieri's testimony into question. Pieri's testimony is directly contradicted by Richard Grooms who testified that the accident pump was one of the pumps brought in during the upgrade. Grooms testified that, the only pumps that we had that were mounted like that with the drum application were the new Graco pumps that we brought in. (Grooms Dep. at 105). Defendants argue that Grooms' testimony is unreliable because elsewhere in his deposition he incorrectly stated the date of the pump upgrade. It is possible that a factfinder would indeed find Grooms' testimony unreliable, but this type of credibility assessment is not available at the summary judgment stage. Credibility determinations, the weighing of the evidence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of a judge, whether he is ruling on a motion for summary judgment or for a directed verdict. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S. Ct. 2505, 91 L. Ed. 2d 202 (1986). The testimony of Hodgie Thulin also casts doubt on Pieri's testimony. Pieri testified that the new pumps he delivered came in crates. But, according to Thulin, only drum-mounted pumps arrive in crates and cart-mounted pumps arrive ready to go. Thulin Dep. at 94. We find that the conflicting testimony of Pieri, Grooms, and Thulin evidences a dispute as to whether the accident pump was one of the pumps delivered by Pieri in January. On a motion for summary judgment, we may only determine whether or not there exists a dispute as to a material issue of fact. [We are] not permitted to resolve that dispute. Dreher v. Sielaff, 636 F.2d 1141, 1144 (7th Cir. 1980) (citing Carter v. Williams, 361 F.2d 189, 194 (7th Cir. 1966)). In much the same way that a court is not required to scour the record in search of evidence to defeat a motion for summary judgment, Bombard v. Fort Wayne Newspapers, Inc., 92 F.3d 560, 562 (7th Cir. 1996), nor is it permitted to conduct a 'paper trial' on the merits of [the] claim. Reed v. McBride, 178 F.3d 849, 852 (7th Cir. 1999). 36 Although a non-moving party may successfully oppose summary judgment only by presenting definite, competent evidence to rebut the motion, Smith v. Severn 129 F.3d 419, 428 (7th Cir. 1997) (citations omitted), the party is not required to produce evidence which, if believed, would lead to a directed verdict in her favor. Ritchie's evidence that the accident pump lacked proper warnings when it left Graco's care and control is certainly not overwhelming. To prevail at trial, Ritchie will have to convince the factfinder that the offending pump was a Graco pump, that the pumps that Pieri delivered in January were drum-mounted as opposed to cart- mounted, and that they lacked warnings when they arrived at Redman. It is quite possible that she will not be able to do this. But to say that it is not certain that Ritchie will prevail at trial and that no rational factfinder could find in her favor are two different things. This case has an admittedly complicated record in which Pieri and the Redman employees frequently contradict themselves and each other. It is not our place to sort out which witnesses are telling the truth, which are mistaken, and which will be credible witnesses at trial. On a motion for summary judgment, all doubts as to the existence of an a issue of material fact must be resolved against the movant. Dreher, 636 F.2d at 1143. When the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to Ritchie, we find that she has demonstrated a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the accident pump left Graco's care and control in a defective condition.