Opinion ID: 163802
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The self-raising claim

Text: 24 Plaintiff alleges that the front-end loader elevated itself without conscious operator input. Aplt. Reply Br. at 2. He contends that because he was unaware of the self-raising hazard, he did not know that he was exposing himself to the risk of a roll-down accident. He maintains that Deere should have issued post-sale warnings about the risk of self-raising. 25 In its brief on appeal, Deere presents three arguments in support of the district court's grant of summary judgment on Plaintiff's warning-defect claim. Deere contends that (1) such a warning was unnecessary in light of Plaintiff's understanding of the overall danger of roll-down accidents; (2) Plaintiff has failed to establish that the alleged self-raising hazard was present at the time of sale; and (3) Plaintiff has not shown that it would have been feasible for Deere to issue him a post-sale warning about the self-raising hazard. 26 With respect to the necessity of a warning, Deere argues that the key question is whether Plaintiff appreciated the general danger of unrestrained objects falling from the front-end loader—not whether Plaintiff had detailed knowledge of particular factors (such as the self-raising danger) that might contribute to a roll-down accident. In Deere's view, [d]escribing the theory of failing to warn [Plaintiff] in Plaintiff's highly selective manner is not relevant because [Plaintiff] was aware of the ultimate hazard, and aware of the serious consequences to the operator if that hazard came to pass. Aple. Br. at 17. 27 Plaintiff responds that the precise scope of his knowledge of the roll-down risk is essential information for determining whether the front-end loader was more dangerous than he perceived. He asserts that there was a critical gap in his understanding of the roll-down hazard: He did not realize that an accident could occur even if he was attempting to carry the large round bales at a low level, because he did not know that the front-end loader might unexpectedly rise to a high level. 28 In support of his position, Plaintiff points out that this circuit has recognized that an assessment of a product's dangerousness may take into account people's misconceptions about the possibility of using the product safely. In Wheeler v. John Deere Co., 935 F.2d 1090, 1104 (10th Cir.1991), a case involving Kansas products-liability law, the court stated: 29 [w]hether a danger is open and obvious depends not just on what people can see with their eyes but also on what they know and believe about what they see. In particular, if people generally believe that there is a danger associated with the use of a product, but that there is a safe way to use it, any danger there may be in using the product in the way generally believed to be safe is not open and obvious. 30 (internal quotation marks omitted). 31 Deere disputes whether the proposition expressed in Wheeler is applicable in this case. In Wheeler, Deere notes, the manufacturer's primary defense against the plaintiff's warning-defect claim was that the danger posed by the product was open and obvious. Here, in contrast, Deere contends not just that the roll-down hazard was open and obvious, but that Plaintiff possessed actual knowledge of the hazard. Deere fails to explain the significance of this distinction, however. The essential point of Wheeler is that there may be a duty to warn if users incorrectly believe that a recognized danger can be avoided by a particular safety measure. Deere does not challenge Plaintiff's assertion that he thought he was avoiding the roll-down hazard by keeping the bale low, because he did not know that the front-end loader might elevate on its own. The logic of Wheeler extends to the circumstances of this case. On this record, Plaintiff's knowledge of roll-down dangers does not preclude his self-raising warning-defect claim. 32 Deere's second argument in support of the district court's grant of summary judgment on Plaintiff's claim concerning the self-raising hazard is that Plaintiff has no evidence that the alleged defect existed at the time of manufacture. As mentioned above, the Kansas Supreme Court has stated that there may be a post-sale duty to warn consumers of defects which originated at the time the product was manufactured and [were] unforeseeable at the point of sale. Patton, 861 P.2d at 1313. 33 We need not consider this issue, however, because Deere did not raise it below. In its summary judgment brief, Deere's discussion under the heading Deere is entitled to summary judgment because it did not violate a post-sale duty to warn, App., Vol. I, at 90-95, nowhere specifically mentions Plaintiff's claims regarding the self-raising hazard. Although the brief does mention the self-raising issue in its discussion of whether Plaintiff's claim was barred because the useful safe lives of the tractor and front-end loader had expired by the time of Plaintiff's accident (an argument not pressed on appeal), [w]e have consistently rejected the argument that raising a related theory below is sufficient to preserve an issue for appeal. Okland Oil Co. v. Conoco Inc., 144 F.3d 1308, 1314 n. 4 (10th Cir.1998). Deere's discussion of the self-raising hazard in its argument concerning the useful life of the equipment did not put Plaintiff on notice that Deere was also arguing that the self-raising hazard did not exist at the time of sale. It would therefore be inappropriate to affirm Deere's summary judgment on that ground. 34 Deere next appears to argue that Plaintiff's post-sale warning-defect claim must fail because of the impracticability of providing such warnings. In Patton the Kansas Supreme Court recognize[d] a manufacturer's duty to warn ultimate consumers... who can be readily identified or traced.... 861 P.2d at 1313. Deere points out that in this case Plaintiff purchased his tractor and loader second-hand. According to Deere, There is no evidence Deere even knew [Plaintiff] had a 48 loader. Aple. Br. at 24. Even assuming that the local Deere dealership had a business relationship with Plaintiff, Deere maintains, Plaintiff's casual purchases of parts from a merchant selling John Deere parts does not lead to an inference he owned a 48 loader ... and certainly creates no duty to keep track of every implement he owned. Id. 35 Plaintiff disputes Deere's assessment of the feasibility of notifying him about potential hazards associated with the equipment. He alleges that an incident in the 1980s demonstrates that Deere could have determined that he owned a 4020 tractor and Model 48 loader. Deere had ordered that tractors be retrofitted with an anti-jumpstart kit. [W]ithout being asked or making a charge to [Plaintiff], a repairman from a local Deere dealership went to Plaintiff's farm and installed the kit on the loader. Aplt. Reply Br. at 11; App., Vol. II, at 431-32. 36 In our view, this evidence creates a question of fact as to whether it would have been practicable for Deere to identify Plaintiff as a product owner. Further, we note that Plaintiff asserted that Deere had wrongfully failed to issue a post-sale warning to Deere loader owners, operators, and dealers  about the self-raising hazard. App., Vol. I, at 30. The Kansas Supreme Court has suggested that even when it may be infeasible for a manufacturer to issue post-sale warnings to consumers, there may still be a duty to issue warnings to retailers. In Patton the court stated: The facts may indicate that notice to all ultimate consumers who purchased the product prior to the time the manufacturer learned of a potential danger is unreasonable, if not impossible. Notice to the distributor or retail seller may, in certain contexts, meet the reasonableness standard. 861 P.2d at 1315. Hence, even if it were clear that Deere could not identify Plaintiff as an owner of the tractor and loader, Plaintiff may be able to prove a claim based on Deere's alleged failure to advise dealers of the self-raising problem. 37 Accordingly, summary judgment was inappropriate on Plaintiff's self-raising warning-defect claim.