Court Opinion

ID: 9577838
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:38:37.163289+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:21:21.549539
License: Public Domain

QUINN, Chief Justice,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent.
I.
While I agree with the conclusion in Part I of the court’s opinion that the court of appeals’ definition of misuse unduly broadens that affirmative defense, I disagree with the strong implication in the court’s opinion that a failure to read and follow a warning on a product will always support a jury instruction on misuse. I also disagree with the court’s conclusion that the trial court adequately instructed the jury on misuse in this case. In my view, the trial court’s instruction on misuse erroneously permitted the jury to find for the defendant *1332even if the warning on the cleaning compound was not adequate to inform a user of the consequences of failing to follow the instructions regarding proper use of the product.
A.
The majority reasons that “the concept of misuse includes the use of a product in a manner other than that which was intended as well as use for an unintended purpose”; that regardless of the defective condition of a manufacturer’s product, the manufacturer “will not be liable if an unforeseeable misuse of the product causes the injuries”; and that in this case the plaintiffs failure to read and heed the warning printed on the product’s label and the plaintiff’s act of wringing out the swab with her hand “were arguably unforeseeable uses of Sani-Tate in a manner other than that intended” and thus could support a jury instruction on misuse. Majority opinion at 1325-26. I believe the majority, at least by implication, automatically and unnecessarily extends the defense of misuse to all cases involving a failure to read and follow warnings on a product regardless of the adequacy of the warning itself.
In order for a plaintiff to recover on a strict liability claim “[s]he must show that the product was defective, that the defect was attributable to the defendant, and [that] the defect caused the injury complained of.” W. Kimble & R. Lesher, Products Liability § 241 (1979); see also CJI-Civ.2d 14:18. A defendant manufacturer is entitled to defend a strict liability claim by asserting the defense of misuse — that is, that the plaintiff used the product “in a way other than that which was intended and which could not reasonably have been anticipated by the manufacturer,” and that such misuse, and not the defect in the product, actually caused the injury to the plaintiff. Jackson v. Harsco Corp., 673 P.2d 363, 367 (Colo.1983). The defense of misuse operates as an affirmative defense in that, even if the jury finds the product defective, the defendant may prevail if the jury finds that the plaintiff used the product for a purpose or in a manner neither intended nor reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer. Jackson, 673 P.2d at 367; Nelson v. Hydraulic Press Manufacturing Co., 84 Ill.App.3d 41, 39 Ill.Dec. 422, 404 N.E.2d 1013 (1980); see also Products Liability § 244, at 270.
When the warning accompanying a product is indeed adequate, I agree that a manufacturer may reasonably assume that users will read and heed the warning, Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A comment j (1965), with the result that a user’s failure to follow an adequate warning cannot serve, by itself, as a basis for imputing a defect in a product that is otherwise not defective in its manufacture and design. When, however, the warning does not adequately alert a user to dangers likely to arise from improper use, it strains logic to conclude that the failure of a user to follow such an inadequate warning should give rise to the defense of misuse.
A product not otherwise defective in its manufacture and design may nonetheless be in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user due to the failure of the manufacturer to give an adequate warning regarding the use of the product. A warning must be adequate both as to its form and content. A manufacturer must appropriately label a product, giving proper consideration to the likelihood of injury due to the failure to warn of dangers that are both inherent in the use of the product and that are likely to arise from improper handling of the product. Crane v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 218 Cal.App.2d 855, 32 Cal.Rptr. 754 (1963). Although a product may be safe so long as instructions for use are followed, there may nevertheless be dangers that are not obvious to the user and that may arise if directions are not strictly followed. Determination of the manufacturer’s liability in these instances should turn on whether “it was reasonably foreseeable that the user would fail to read directions or fail to follow them, in the absence of a warning as to consequences of such misuse.” Brown v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 136 Ariz. 556, 667 P.2d 750, 758 (Ct.App.1983) (quoting Products Liability § 199, at 210-11). We rec*1333ognized as much in Hiigel v. General Motors Corp., 190 Colo. 57, 64, 544 P.2d 983, 988 (1976), when we stated that “the duty to warn may not be satisfied by directions which merely tell how to use the product, but say nothing about the inherent and specific dangers if directions are not followed.” 1
If the only defect at issue is the failure to adequately warn of the consequences of foreseeable misuse, the manufacturer should not be entitled to a jury instruction on the defense of misuse because, as previously noted, the defense of misuse applies only to a misuse that could not have been reasonably anticipated by a manufacturer. Jackson, 673 P.2d at 367. If in such a case the jury were to find that the warning on foreseeable misuse was adequate, the suit should end in the defendant’s favor on the basis that the product was not defective. If, on the other hand, the jury were to find that the warning regarding foreseeable misuse was inadequate, the manufacturer should not be able to assert as a defense that such foreseeable misuse indeed occurred. For example, a warning buried in fine print in the middle of a lengthy instruction booklet might render a product defective by reason of the failure to provide a warning reasonably calculated to catch the attention of the prudent consumer as to the consequences of not strictly following the instruction on proper use. Since misuse does not operate as a defense unless the product is being used in a manner neither intended nor reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer, the manufacturer should not be entitled to an instruction on misuse based on the user’s failure to read a warning which the manufacturer could reasonably expect would not be noticed by the prudent consumer. Likewise, when a warning is ambiguous and the user fails to follow it in a way that the manufacturer intended but did not adequately express, the use of the product contrary to the manufacturer’s unexpressed intent should not give rise to the defense of misuse.
B.
In this case, the only defect at issue was the alleged failure of Huntington Lab, Inc., to provide an adequate warning regarding the use of its product. The trial court instructed the jury on this issue as follows:
In order for the plaintiff, Tonya Up-tain, to recover from the defendant, Huntington Lab, Inc., on her claim for damages, you must find all of the following to have been proved:
1. the instructions for use, and the warnings of dangers associated with that use, which accompanied Sani-Tate were inadequate;
2. the inadequate instructions and warnings rendered Sani-Tate unreasonably dangerous when it was used for its intended purpose. To be unreasonably *1334dangerous, Sani-Tate, because of inadequate instructions and warnings, must have created a risk of harm to persons which would not ordinarily be expected;
3. the plaintiffs injuries were proximately caused by this unreasonably dangerous condition.
If you find that one or more of these propositions has not been proved by a preponderance of the evidence, then your verdict must be for the defendant.
On the other hand, if you find that all of these propositions have been proved by a preponderance of the evidence, then your verdict must be for the plaintiff, unless you find plaintiff misused the product as defined in another instruction.
The court then, over the plaintiffs objection, instructed the jury on misuse as follows:
A manufacturer of a product is not legally responsible for injuries caused by a product if: (1) the product is used in a manner or for a purpose other than that which was intended and which could not reasonably have been expected; and (2) such use rather than a defect, if any, in the product caused the plaintiffs claimed injuries.
These instructions permitted the jury to improperly apply the misuse instruction to a situation clearly outside the intended scope of the misuse defense. In effect, the jury was allowed to return a verdict for the defendant on the basis of the misuse instruction even though the jury may have already determined that the product was defective due to an inadequate warning in regard to the consequences of foreseeable misuse and that this defect was the proximate cause of the plaintiffs injuries. This instructional flaw warrants a new trial.
II.
I also dissent from Part II of the court’s opinion, which holds that the trial court properly excluded evidence of the new Sani-Tate label because the prejudicial effect of such evidence outweighed its probative value. The plaintiffs strict liability claim was predicated on the manufacturer’s failure to warn users of the dangers associated with the use of Sani-Tate cleaning fluid. In Colorado, a manufacturer’s duty is to adequately warn users of the proper way of using the product and the dangers associated with normal use and reasonably foreseeable misuse. See Jackson, 673 P.2d at 367. Section 13-21-404, 6 C.R.S. (1985 Supp.), expressly provides that “evidence of any scientific advancements ... in labeling, warnings of risks or hazards, or instructions for the use of such product, where such advancements were discovered subsequent to the time the product in issue was sold by the manufacturer, shall not be admissible for any purpose other than to show a duty to warn." (emphasis added). The court finds this statute inapplicable because, in its view, the new label advising users to wear rubber gloves was not the result of “newly discovered scientific knowledge.” Majority opinion at 1327. Even if evidence of a new label cannot properly be categorized as “newly discovered scientific knowledge,” such evidence is not inadmissible as long as it is otherwise legally relevant to show a duty to warn. The plaintiff’s proferred evidence of the new Sani-Tate label clearly qualified for admission under the applicable standards of legal relevancy.
A.
Although not necessary to a resolution of this case, the court determines that the exclusionary provision of CRE 407 applies equally to a strict liability claim as it does to a negligence claim. Rule 407 provides, in pertinent part, that “evidence of the subsequent [remedial] measures is not admissible to prove negligence or culpable conduct in connection with the event,” but exclusion is not required when this evidence is offered for some other purpose, such as proving the feasibility of precautionary measures, if controverted. The intent underlying CRE 407, and its identical federal counterpart, is that the exclusion of evidence of subsequent remedial measures should only apply in cases involving negligence or culpable conduct and not to a claim predicated on strict liability. This *1335intent is evidenced by the Evidence Committee’s comment to Rule 407, which states that “[t]he phrase ‘culpable conduct’ is not deemed to include proof of liability in a ‘strict liability’ case based on defect, where the subsequent measures are properly admitted as evidence of the original defect.”
The rationale for not applying Rule 407 in strict liability cases has been cogently analyzed in Herndon v. Seven Bar Flying Service, Inc., 716 F.2d 1322 (10th Cir.1983), and Ault v. International Harvester Co., 13 Cal.3d 113, 117 Cal.Rptr. 812, 528 P.2d 1148 (1974). A strict liability claim for a product defect focuses on the product itself, not the culpability of the manufacturer, and the policies undergirding strict liability would be seriously impaired by extending a negligence-based rule of evidence to these claims. Furthermore, it is utter speculation, and unreasonable speculation at that, to suppose that manufacturers would risk innumerable lawsuits by foregoing improved warnings as to use or other improvements in their products in order to avoid the possible use of such evidence in subsequent litigation. Moreover, the fact that the alleged defect is an inadequate warning does not change the nature of the claim from one of strict liability to one based on culpable fault. I would therefore not apply the exclusionary provisions of CRE 407 to a strict liability claim.
B.
The appropriate standards for determining the admissibility of the new label are found in CRE 401 and 403. CRE 401 defines relevant evidence as evidence “having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable ... than it would be without the evidence.” CRE 401. The evidence in question, consisting of a new label advising users of Sani-Tate to wear rubber gloves when using the product, is obviously relevant to the basic issue in this case — that is, whether the manufacturer satisfied its duty to adequately warn users of the proper way of using the product and the dangers associated with normal and reasonably foreseeable misuse.
The question remains whether this relevant evidence was properly excluded under CRE 403 because its probative value was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Since CRE 403 permits the trial court to exclude otherwise relevant evidence, it should be applied sparingly. United States v. Meester, 762 F.2d 867, 874-76, reh’g denied en banc, 768 F.2d 1353 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 106 S.Ct. 579, 88 L.Ed.2d 562 (1985); Ebanks v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., 688 F.2d 716, 722-23, reh’g denied, 693 F.2d 135 (11th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1083, 103 S.Ct. 1774, 76 L.Ed.2d 346 (1983); see also 2 D. Louisell & C. Mueller, Federal Evidence § 125 (1985). The only prejudice attached to the evidence concerning the new label, in my view, is that it may be indicative of liability on the part of the manufacturer — that is, it may show the product was not adequately la-belled. However, Rule 403 only requires exclusion of relevant evidence when that evidence is outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. It “does not protect against evidence that is prejudicial merely in the sense that it is detrimental to a party’s case.” United States v. Michaels, 726 F.2d 1307, 1315 (8th Cir.1984), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 105 S.Ct. 92, 83 L.Ed.2d 38 (1984). Virtually all evidence is prejudicial in that sense, but not in the “unfair” sense contemplated by CRE 403. Kelsay v. Consolidated Rail Corp., 749 F.2d 437, 443 (7th Cir.1984). There is no question in my mind that the proffered evidence was both logically and legally relevant to the issue of the manufacturer’s duty to warn and should have been admitted for that limited purpose with an appropriate limiting instruction given to the jury.
III.
Finally, I disagree with the court’s conclusion in Part III that under CRE 103(a)(1) the plaintiff’s motion in limine constituted a timely objection to the defendant’s proffered evidence of lack of prior lawsuits *1336involving the use of Sani-Tate, thereby dispensing with the need for the plaintiff to make a contemporaneous objection to such evidence during the trial of the case. The factors bearing on admissibility of a particular item of evidence, particularly its logical and legal relevancy, can best be evaluated in the context of the evidentiary state of the record at trial rather than in the artificial atmosphere of a motion in limine. Higgs v. District Court, 713 P.2d 840, 859 (Colo.1985). For this reason, the denial of a motion in limine should not eliminate the requirement of a contemporaneous objection to the evidence when such evidence is offered at trial. While the contemporaneous objection need not recite in detail the specific objections outlined in the motion in limine, and may be made outside the presence or hearing of the jury, the objection should at least incorporate by reference all or part of the objections previously urged and add any new objections to the challenged evidence that the objecting party desires to make. Only in this way can trial and appellate courts be certain that the objecting party, for reasons of trial strategy or otherwise, was not abandoning the objections raised at a pretrial motion in limine. The plaintiff, in my view, waived any objection to the evidence in question by not making a contemporaneous objection during trial when the evidence was offered in the defendant’s case.
Because the court proceeds to address the merits of the plaintiff’s evidentiary claim, I voice my disagreement with the court’s construction and application of section 13-21-403(3), 6 C.R.S. (1985 Supp.), in a manner that supports the admission of the challenged evidence. Section 13-21-403(3) states:
Ten years after a product is first sold for use or consumption, it shall be rebutt-ably presumed that the product was not defective and that the manufacturer or seller thereof was not negligent and that all warnings and instructions were proper and adequate.
To be sure, the legislature has the power to enact a statute declaring that proof of one fact shall give rise to a presumption that another fact is true. Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Railroad Co. v. Turnipseed, 219 U.S. 35, 42, 31 S.Ct. 136, 137, 55 L.Ed. 78 (1910). To comply with basic standards of due process, however, the statutory presumption must be based on “some rational connection between the fact proved and the ultimate fact presumed, and the inference of one fact from proof of another [must] not be so unreasonable as to be a purely arbitrary mandate.” Id. at 43, 31 S.Ct. at 138. Simply put, “[legislative fiat may not take the place of fact in the judicial determination of issues involving life, liberty or property.” Western and Atlantic Railroad v. Henderson, 279 U.S. 639, 642, 49 S.Ct. 445, 447, 73 L.Ed. 884 (1929).
Section 13-21-403(3), on its face and as construed by the majority, does not satisfy these standards. The statute, on its face, creates a presumption that a product is not defective if it has been sold for use or consumption for ten years. If the history of product liability litigation proves anything, it demonstrates that complex issues of causation frequently come to the surface only after the passage of a considerable period of time during which correlations develop concerning the relationship of an ingredient or component of a product to injury or illness. Moreover, the appearance of a defect within ten years after a product is first sold depends on a number of factors other than the mere passage of time, such as, for example, the frequency of use by the average consumer, the nature of the defect, and the conditions necessary to bring the defect to the knowledge of both the professionals dealing with the product and the ordinary consumer. Some defects take much longer than ten years to discover. The drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a case in point. This drug caused no immediate injury to many users, but did create problems in users’ daughters more than ten years after the initial ingestion of the drug by the user. See McMahon v. Eli Lilly & Co., 774 F.2d 830 (7th Cir.1985); Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories, 26 Cal.3d 588, 163 Cal.Rptr. 132, 607 P.2d 924, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 912, 101 S.Ct. 285, 66 *1337L.Ed.2d 140 (1980). Similarly, the dangerous propensities of asbestos did not lead to litigation until people exposed to this product developed cancer many years after the initial exposure. See Odum v. Celotex Corp., 764 F.2d 1486 (11th Cir.1985); Insurance Co. of North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, Inc., 633 F.2d 1212, 1214 n. 1 (6th Cir.1980), reh’g granted and opinion clarified, 657 F.2d 814, cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1109, 102 S.Ct. 686, 70 L.Ed.2d 650 (1981); Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp., 493 F.2d 1076, 1083 (5th Cir.1973), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 869, 95 S.Ct. 127, 42 L.Ed.2d 107 (1974).
In an effort to provide some semblance of rationality to the statute, the court reads into it the requirement that during the ten year period there be no lawsuits filed against the manufacturer of the product. Majority opinion at 1331 and n. 10. I fail to understand how this requirement somehow provides a rational nexus between the proved fact of no litigation during a ten year period and the presumed fact of a nondefective product. A manufacturer, for example, might receive numerous complaints about the operation of a product and take no action to enhance its safety, but nonetheless no lawsuit is filed because none of the complaining parties actually sustained injuries. Perhaps more to the point is the evidentia-ry problem implicit in the court’s construction of the statute. If it can be presumed that a product is not defective because no lawsuits were filed during the ten years after the product is first sold, it follows by a parity of reasoning that it also should be presumed that a product is defective when lawsuits have been filed during this ten year period. Such a presumption, however, would turn on its head the traditional rule against presuming liability from the mere filing of a lawsuit. See City of Aurora v. Weeks, 152 Colo. 509, 384 P.2d 90 (1963).
I fail to see any rational connection between the lack of litigation during the first ten years of the marketing of the product and the lack of any defect in the product. The admission of evidence concerning the lack of lawsuits involving Sani-Tate was erroneous.
For the above reasons, I would reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and would remand the case for a new trial.

. CJI-Civ.2d 14:20 states:
(A product is) (A product not otherwise defective in its manufacture or design becomes) defective and unreasonably dangerous if it is not accompanied by sufficient (warnings) (or) (instructions for use). To be sufficient, such (warnings) (or) (instructions for use) must adequately inform the ordinary user of any specific risk of harm which may be involved in (any intended or reasonably expected use) (or) (any failure to properly follow instructions when using the product for any intended or reasonably expected use).
The Notes on Use to this instruction provide as follows:
This instruction should be given whenever one or more of the claimed defects involves the lack or adequacy of warnings or instructions for the use of the product. The first parenthetical clause in the first sentence should be used when the only defect claimed in the product is the inadequacy of warnings or instructions. The second parenthetical clause should be used when the claimed defect also involves, or another claimed defect involves, manufacture or design. See Notes on Use to Instruction 14:19.
Use whichever other parenthesized words are appropriate. In certain cases this instruction may need to be modified to make it clear that the adequacy of warnings or instructions are to be tested in terms of the persons or groups of persons to whom such warnings and instructions are normally expected to be addressed. For example, warnings dealing with the side effects of prescription drugs will normally be addressed to physicians and pharmacists, rather than to the ultimate consumer. See, e.g., Hamilton v. Hardy, 37 Colo.App. 375, 549 P.2d 1099 (1976).