Court Opinion

ID: 9583958
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:43:19.580805+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:06:04.934297
License: Public Domain

HEARN, Chief Judge:
I respectfully dissent. The majority holds that the accident would not have occurred had Turner heeded the warning to disconnect the batteries and treats this finding by the trial judge as an alternate sustaining ground on which to affirm the grant of judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The logic seems to be that after Caterpillar provided one clear warning that was disregarded, any subsequent warning is immune from a determination of adequacy. I disagree.
In this case, Caterpillar foresaw that the batteries might be connected during maintenance work. The warning contested by Curcio states in part, “If the engine must be started,----” Such an instruction contradicts the instruction that the batteries must be disconnected at all times during maintenance work. Given this contradiction, it does not follow that failure to follow one warning should preclude Curcio’s argument concerning another warning. Moreover, the mere fact that Caterpillar warned against starting the engine is evidence that it knew its admonition about disconnecting the batteries might not be followed. Thus, I do not share the majority’s view that the warning to disconnect the batteries vitiated any further duty by Caterpillar to provide adequate warnings.
I would hold that a jury issue was presented as to the adequacy of the warning. At trial, Curcio presented expert testimony distinguishing the words “crank,” “run,” and “start.” The disputed words are all used in different ways throughout the manual. The expert testified that given the use of the words in the manual and the trade usage, Turner may have thought he could “crank” the engine if he did not “start” it.16 No objection was lodged to the admission of this testimony or to the expert’s qualifications.
*279Generally, the adequacy of a warning is a jury question. Allen v. Long Mfg. NC, Inc., 332 S.C. 422, 427, 505 S.E.2d 354, 357 (Ct.App.1998); see 63A Am.Jur.2d Products Liability § 1219 (1997). Here, the trial judge correctly sent this issue to the jury. However, I believe he erred in granting judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
In his order, the trial judge appears to have weighed the evidence in determining that the warnings were adequate as a matter of law, stating:
No reasonable person (and certainly no mechanic like Turner) would adopt Mr. Warren’s strained distinction between ‘start’ and ‘crank.’ Although not essential for purposes of this ruling, I note that Mr. Warren has absolutely no experience with heavy equipment. Conversely all witnesses with such experience understood the term ‘start’ to include any notion the engine was to be turned over by the electrical starter motor.
In considering a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, the trial judge is concerned only with the existence of evidence, not its weight. State v. Wakefield, 323 S.C. 189, 196, 473 S.E.2d 831, 835 (Ct.App.1996). “When considering the motion, neither this court nor the trial court has authority to decide credibility issues or to resolve conflicts in the testimony and evidence.” Reiland v. Southland Equip. Serv., Inc., 330 S.C. 617, 634, 500 S.E.2d 145, 154 (Ct.App.1998). Moreover, we will not disturb the factual findings of a jury unless no evidence reasonably supports those findings. Horry County v. Laychur, 315 S.C. 364, 367, 434 S.E.2d 259, 261 (1993). Therefore, I believe the trial judge erred in overturning the jury’s verdict based on his own assessment of the evidence.
Further, I believe the issue of whether the design was defective was also properly submitted to the jury. The majority, relying on language from Allen and comment j to § 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, states that a product may be cured of any unreasonable danger if the seller places an adequate warning on the product. However, because I disagree with the majority’s alternate sustaining ground and would hold that a jury issue as to the adequacy of the warning *280was created by the expert’s testimony, I disagree with the majority’s holding that the product was not unreasonably dangerous as a matter of law.
For the above reasons, I would reverse the trial judge’s grant of judgment notwithstanding the verdict and reinstate the jury’s verdict.

. According to Curcio’s expert, the distinction between these terms lies in the systems used. "Crank” suggests use of the cranking engine, *279and “start” means rotate the engine until the cranking motor is no longer required and the engine runs on it own.