Court Opinion

ID: 9665678
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 00:54:40.322685+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:17.705809
License: Public Domain

TUNKS, Chief Justice.
I respectfully dissent.
I agree with the opinion of the majority except that I would hold that there is no evidence that the car in question was unreasonably dangerous. The plaintiff, therefore, failed to prove a cause of action against the resident defendant seller, as he was required to do under subdivision 4 of Article 1995. He also failed to prove a cause of action against the nonresident corporate defendant manufacturer, as required by subdivisions 23 and 27. For that reason I would affirm the judgment of the trial court sustaining the plea of privilege of the defendant General Motors Corporation.
There is no evidence that the car in question failed to conform to any statutory safety regulations or to any regulations imposed by an administrative body. The plaintiff’s expert witness, Barron, said that because of the absence of a roll bar or roll cage in the car’s roof it was “uncommonly dangerous.” He admitted, however, that the roof structures of other cars manufactured in the United States “are all about the same.”
Mr. Barron answered affirmatively a question by plaintiff’s attorney as to whether the design of the car was “unreasonably dangerous.” The term “unreasonably dangerous” has a special legal meaning in a products liability case. The term is defined in the Restatement of Torts as meaning “dangerous to an extent beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer who purchases it, with the ordinary knowledge common to the community as to its characteristics.” Restatement (Second) of Torts, Explanatory Notes § 402A, Comment i at 352 (1965). There is no way of knowing if the term “unreasonably dangerous” had the same meaning to the witness Barron. His opinion, therefore, was not evidence tending to prove that the car was unreasonably dangerous. See Carr v. Radkey, 393 S.W.2d 806 (Tex.Sup.1965).
Sec. 402A of the Restatement of Torts does not impose on the manufacturer the duty to design automobiles that are incapable of producing injuries arising from their use for the purpose for which they were intended. The manufacturer is not an insurer against such loss. Shamrock Fuel Oil & Sales Co. v. Tunks, 416 S.W.2d 779 (Tex.Sup.1967). It is liable for a design defect only if the design characteristic creates an unreasonble danger in its intended use. The unreasonableness of the danger created by the absence of a roll cage on the car in question involves the consideration of many factors, including cost, economy of operation, effect on maneuverability, and appearance. It also involves weighing the good and bad effects of a particular design against the many factors that must be considered. Henderson, Judicial Review of Conscious Design Choices, the Limits of Adjudication, 73 Colum.L.Rev. 1531 (1973). The record fails to show that the witness Barron took these many factors into consideration (except for vague and general language as to cost) in forming his opinion. The value of an opinion expressed by a witness is no stronger than the facts on which it is based. If it is not based upon relevant facts it has no probative force and, standing alone, will not be legally sufficient to raise a fact question. Dallas Railway & Terminal Company v. Gossett, 156 Tex. 252, 294 S.W.2d 377 (Tex.Sup.1956); Texas and Pacific Railway Company v. Meeks, *508338 S.W.2d 169 (Tex.Civ.App.-Eastland 1960, writ ref’d n. r. e.).
The plaintiff’s expert witness, Barron, testified as follows:
Q Now, is it your opinion, Mr. Barron, that the design of the roof structure of the 1969 Impala is more subject to deformation than the design of the roof structures of other vehicles of about the same manufacturing era?
A No, sir, I believe they are all about the same.
Q That is generally classified as a six passenger sedan, is it not, sir ?
A I believe that is correct.
Q If we took the six passenger sedans manufactured by Chrysler, American Motors and Ford, as far as the roof crush characteristics they would be all approximately the same, is that true?
A I would say within a degree of closeness, yes.
Q Your opinion then concerning this design of roof structure condemns all domestically manufactured automobiles of the era in which this car was designed and manufactured, does it not, sir?
A I am afraid that it even encompasses the era that we are in at the present as well.
Q That is right, on up until today ?
A Yes, sir.
It is clear that the design of the roof of the car in question not only did not violate any governmental safety regulations but also fully conformed to the standards of the automotive industry. Such conformity does not irrefutably establish that the design was not unreasonably dangerous, but strong evidence is necessary to prove that the conforming design was defective. See Ward v. Hobart Manufacturing Company, 450 F.2d 1176 (5th Cir. 1971). In this case the evidence is legally insufficient to prove such defect in the design of the roof structure of the plaintiff’s car.