Court Opinion

ID: 9764523
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 03:25:45.014532+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:57.862409
License: Public Domain

Justice PLEICONES.
I concur in part and dissent in part. While I agree that the risk-utility test is the appropriate test for design defect cases, I do not believe this Court has the power to simply discard the consumer expectations test, expressly adopted by the General Assembly in S.C.Code Ann. §§ 15-73-10 through 30. Furthermore, in my opinion, much of the evidence the majority views as improper “post-manufacture” evidence was properly *244admissible to prove (1) the foreseeable risk of harm posed by the Bronco II as produced, (2) that the proposed alternative designs could have reduced or avoided the foreseeable risk, and (3) that the Bronco II, absent the alternative designs, was not reasonably safe.
I. Risk-Utility Test
As the majority notes, the General Assembly adopted the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A in 1974. See S.C.Code Ann. §§ 15-73-10 through 30. The comments to § 402A, which form the basis for the consumer expectations test, were expressly adopted as legislative intent. S.C.Code Ann. § 15-73-30. The majority then notes that the American Law Institute has, in the Restatement (Third) of Torts, moved away from the consumer expectations test for design defects in favor of the risk-utility test and proposes that this Court do the same. While I agree with the majority that the risk-utility test is the appropriate test for design defect cases, I do not believe that this Court has the authority to simply reject the General Assembly’s chosen test, even if we believe that body would approve of the change. See Benat v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., 286 S.C. 132, 333 S.E.2d 57 (Ct.App.1985) (“It is the duty of this court to interpret the law. We have no legislative authority and cannot vary a statutory scheme and this is true no matter how logical the basis of the variance.”).
However, I believe that this Court may effect the same result under the existing statute by interpreting the consumer expectations test in the specific context of design defect cases. S.C.Code Ann. § 15-73-10 provides that “[o]ne who sells any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer or to his property is subject to liability....” Comments to § 402A explain that a product is in a “defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer or to his property” when the product is in “a condition not contemplated by the ultimate consumer, which will be unreasonably dangerous to him.” Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A cmt. g. A product is unreasonably dangerous when it is “dangerous to an extent beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer.” Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A cmt. i. These comments form the basis for the consumer expectations test.
*245In my view, given the complexity of many modern products, a consumer’s expectations are not directed to any specific characteristic of the design, but rather to the manufacturer’s design decision. The ordinary consumer expects that the manufacturer will weigh the foreseeable risks against the benefits and only offer a product for sale to the general public if the latter outweighs the former. See 60 S.C.L.Rev. 1101.
Accordingly, I concur in the majority’s decision to apply risk-utility principles to design defect claims. However, in my view, such change must be achieved within the framework of existing statutory provisions.
II. Post-Manufacture Evidence
I respectfully disagree with the majority’s stance on “post-manufacture” evidence. The majority reverses the jury verdict based, in part, on its finding that “Ford was prejudiced by Branham’s unrelenting pursuit of post-manufacture evidence on the issue of liability.” The opinion defines “post-manufacture evidence” as “evidence of facts neither known nor available at the time of manufacture.” Such evidence is, in the majority’s view, inadmissible because “[wjhen assessing liability in a design defect claim, the judgment and ultimate decision of the manufacturer must be evaluated based on what was known at the time of manufacture.” I believe the majority’s rule sweeps too broadly and absorbs within its ambit evidence which is properly admissible in a design defect case.
I note at the outset that the majority opinion may be read as barring any evidence created after the date of manufacture. If this is the majority’s view, I strongly disagree. In my view, such a rule would deprive the fact finder of relevant evidence regarding what the manufacturer knew or should have known, design alternatives, and the risk inherent in the manufacturer’s design.
In a products liability action, the plaintiff must prove (1) that he was injured by the product; (2) that the injury occurred because the product was in a defective condition, unreasonably dangerous to the user; and (3) that the product at the time of the accident was in essentially the same condition as when it left the hands of the defendant. See Bragg v. Hi-Ranger, Inc., 319 S.C. 531, 539, 462 S.E.2d 321, *246326 (Ct.App.1995). Under the risk-utility test for design defect cases, a plaintiff must prove the second element, product defect, by showing that “the foreseeable risks of harm posed by the product could have been reduced or avoided by the adoption of a reasonable alternative design by the seller ... and the omission of the alternative design renders the product not reasonably safe.” Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability § 2(b) (1998).
In seeking to meet his burden, the plaintiff introduced the following evidence which the majority finds objectionable:
(1) A memo dated April 14, 1989, dealing with a meeting that three Ford engineers had with representatives from Consumer Reports, discussing a comparative test of the Bronco II and other similar cars, showing the Bronco II to have a higher fatal rollover rate than the other cars.
(2) A film, taped in 1989, showing “J-tests” comparing the Chevy Blazer and Bronco II, and demonstrating that the Bronco II did not handle as well as the Blazer.
(3) A document that compared a 1989 Bronco II to a prototype of the Ford Explorer, showing that the handling strategy of the Bronco II makes the vehicle more sensitive to steering over-corrections that seem to be part of most rollover scenarios.
In finding the above evidence improper and inadmissible, the majority notes that:
Whether the 1987 Ford Bronco II was defectively designed and in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous must be determined as of the 1986 manufacture date of the vehicle. Ford’s 1986 design and manufacture decision should be assessed on the evidence available at that time, not the increased evidence of additional rollover data that came to light after 1986.
While I agree in general with the majority’s proposition, I note that when the reports were generated or tests conducted is of little consequence, since testimony established that the vehicles tested were substantially the same as the model involved in the accident, the testing methods were available to Ford prior to the date of manufacture, and the rollover risk was known to Ford prior to the date of manufacture. In *247short, the date on which the evidence was created is of little utility in determining the relevance of the evidence and a broad rule barring evidence created “post manufacture” actually serves to defeat the goals of the risk-utility test.
First, I believe the evidence was admissible to show foreseeable risk. The risk-utility test, as set forth in the Restatement (Third) of Torts, speaks not in terms of evidence of risk of which the manufacturer was actually aware, but in terms of foreseeable risk. No party disputes that Ford had the ability to test the 1987 Bronco II in the same way as was done in the disputed evidence mentioned above. In fact, Ford conducted such tests, the results of which led some Ford engineers to conclude that the wheel base design was flawed.27 Consequently, in my view, the memo, film, and document were properly admissible to show foreseeable risk, an essential element of the plaintiffs burden of proof in a design defect case.28
Second, I believe the video was admissible to show the viability of the proposed reasonable alternative design. To satisfy the risk-utility test, the plaintiff must prove, in most instances, that the foreseeable risk could have been avoided by the adoption of a reasonable alternative design. Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability, § 2 cmt. d. The alternative design must be one that could have been practically adopted at the time of the sale. Id.
The plaintiff proposed reasonable alternative designs that were available at the time of manufacture, i.e. the MacPherson Strut suspension system and SLA suspension system, and he was entitled to an opportunity to show that the alternative designs could have reduced or avoided the foreseeable risk. Testimony at trial established that the Blazer used the SLA suspension system and the video demonstrated that the SLA *248system remedied the alleged rollover propensity of vehicles using the Twin I-Beam suspension system. The video was therefore, in my view, properly admitted.
Finally, I believe the memo, film, and document were properly admissible to aid the plaintiff in proving the final element of the risk-utility test: that “the omission of the alternative design renders the product not reasonably safe.” Though the “post-manufacture” evidence dealt with Bronco II vehicles manufactured between 1987 and 1989, testimony at trial established that there were no major changes to the Bronco II after 1987. The vehicles’ rollover propensities are therefore relevant to the issue of the reasonableness of Ford’s choice of the Twin I-Beam suspension system over the SLA or MacPherson system.
For the reasons stated above, I concur in part and dissent in part.
WALLER, J., concurs.

. Even if the risk-utility test considered only the manufacturer’s actual knowledge of the risk, introduction of the memo, film, and document would not be prejudicial to Ford as this testimony demonstrates that Ford was aware of the stability problems demonstrated in the "post-manufacture” evidence.

. I note that a rule barring any evidence created after the date of manufacture would bar nearly all evidence created by a party other than the defendant manufacturer, as it is the only party with access to the vehicle prior to the date of manufacture.