Opinion ID: 1635488
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Claims Against Danieli

Text: In its motion for a summary judgment, Danieli contended, among other things, that the No. 4 pickle line had been substantially modified since it was designed and installed in the 1960s, and that these alterations actually caused Tanksley's injuries, thus relieving Danieli from any liability under the AEMLD. [7] An essential element of an AEMLD claim is proof that the product reached the consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it was sold. Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Harris, 630 So.2d 1018, 1027 (Ala.1993); see also Clarke Indus., Inc. v. Home Indem. Co., 591 So.2d 458, 462 (Ala.1991). However, the mere fact that a product has been altered or modified does not necessarily relieve the manufacturer or seller of liability. Sears, Roebuck & Co., supra; see also Johnson v. Niagara Machine & Tool Works, 555 So.2d 88, 91 (Ala.1989). A manufacturer or seller remains liable if the alteration or modification did not in fact cause the injury, or if the alteration or modification was reasonably foreseeable to the manufacturer or seller. Sears, Roebuck & Co., supra; see also Industrial Chem. & Fiberglass Corp. v. Hartford Accident & Indem. Co., 475 So.2d 472, 476 (Ala.1985), and Clarke Indus., 591 So.2d at 462. Hannah, 840 So.2d at 855. In Williamson v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 626 So.2d 1261 (Ala.1993), a child was injured when he put his finger into a hole found on an automatic chicken feeder manufactured by C.T.B., Inc. The child's mother sued C.T.B. under the AEMLD, alleging that the chicken feeder was not reasonably safe for its intended use and that C.T.B. failed to warn of the unreasonably dangerous condition of the feeder. The evidence in the record demonstrated that the hole into which the child put his finger had been drilled into the chicken feeder by its owner, Smith, to increase the feed output and that the feeder, as designed by C.T.B., did not have that hole. Therefore, this Court held: We note that `the mere fact that a product has been modified by the buyer subsequent to the sale does not always relieve a manufacturer of liability.' Johnson v. Niagara Machine & Tool Works, 555 So.2d 88, 91 (Ala.1989). However, the plaintiff must show that `the injury was not caused by the change.' Id. (quoting Industrial Chemical & Fiberglass Corp. v. Hartford Acc. & Indem. Co., 475 So.2d 472 (Ala.1985)). The record in this case clearly shows that [the child] was injured when he stuck his finger into a hole drilled by Smith. [The child's mother] failed to produce substantial evidence in order to defeat C.T.B.'s properly supported motion for summary judgment. Therefore, we affirm the summary judgment as to C.T.B. 626 So.2d at 1264. Danieli presented substantial evidence that the No. 4 pickle line had been substantially altered since it was originally designed and installed by Wean and that those alterations caused Tanksley's injury. Specifically, Danieli produced the affidavit of Richard K. Lordo, who stated that he had 40 years' experience as an engineer and designer in steel-mill machinery design. Lordo testified that he was familiar with the design of the No. 4 pickle line, that it had been materially altered from its original design, and that those alterations created circumstances unforeseen by the original design: The line at issue has been materially altered. Specifically, the hot air drier as originally sold and installed had been so materially altered that it no longer met the original design and function expectations. A lid or cap has been fabricated to go on top of the hot air drier in a manner that materially alters the design of the hot air drier, compromises its efficiency and efficacy and materially changes the utilization anticipated by the manufacturer. As originally designed, there was no hot air drier lid for the # 4 pickle line. Therefore, there could never be any circumstance in which a worker would be expected to stand on this line in front of the inrunning rollers or nips. . . . Further, there was no reason for the designer or manufacturer to expect that any worker would place himself on the strip of steel at or upstream of the hot air drier . . . . There is no known effective means to guard the rollers where the plaintiff was injured but they are effectively guarded by other means of protection including but not limited to signs directing workers never to stand on the strip of steel, electrical devices able completely to de-energize the line so that the accident couldn't occur, and by the positioning where the strip of steel and the in-rolling rollers or nips are away from any anticipated area of use by any worker. Otherwise, due to the need for the steel to move in an unimpeded fashion from the hot air drier to the rollers, there is no known effective, efficient way to safely install any guard that would not compromise the effect of the machinery and the roll of steel. . . . . This equipment when sold as original equipment was not defective, and there was no known reason to have had any additional guarding in place at the place of the plaintiff's accident. Also, no known feasible alternative guarding is available to guard the in-rolling rollers where the plaintiff was injured. There was no foreseeable reason that a worker would ever be in this position as there was nothing about the hot air drier that required any lid, cap or shield as originally designed.  (Emphasis added.) The record reveals that Tanksley submitted no response directed to Danieli's motion for a summary judgment. We find nothing in the materials submitted to the trial court before it granted Danieli's summary-judgment motion that provided substantial evidence indicating that Tanksley's injury was not caused by the alterations to the No. 4 pickle line made after it was installed at the U.S. Steel facility. Williamson, 626 So.2d at 1264. Additionally, Tanksley does not address this issue on appeal. Therefore, Tanksley has failed to show the existence of a genuine issue of material fact, and the trial court did not err in entering the summary judgment for Danieli.