Court Opinion

ID: 9739965
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:24:47.120913+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:15.031413
License: Public Domain

JON P. WILCOX, J.
¶ 64. (dissenting). I agree with the majority that Strasser's claim for negligent failure to warn must fail because Transtech had reason to believe that Strasser knew that the ladders did not have safety treads.
¶ 65. However, I disagree with the majority's conclusion that Strasser's claim for negligent design, manufacture, construction, assembly, and installation of the ladders is viable. I would hold that Rolph v. EBI Cos., 159 Wis. 2d 518, 464 N.W.2d 667 (1991) bars such a claim. Therefore I dissent on that issue.
¶ 66. This court reviews a grant of summary judgment by applying the same methodology as the circuit court, namely, the standards set forth in Wis. Stat. § 802.08(2) (1995-96).1 Rolph, 159 Wis. 2d at 527. Under this methodology, the court first examines the pleadings and decides whether a claim for relief has been stated. Id. If so, the court then examines the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file to determine whether there are issues of material fact that preclude summary judgment. Id. If no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment should be granted. Id.
*465¶ 67. The pleadings state a claim for relief. The complaint alleges that Strasser was seriously injured when he fell off of a ladder that had been constructed and installed by Transtech. The complaint further alleges that these injuries were caused by Transtech's negligent design, manufacture, construction, assembly, and installation of the ladder. Based on the same facts, the complaint also seeks to hold Transtech liable for negligently failing to warn Strasser about the defects and hazards present in the ladder.
¶ 68. In its responsive pleading, Transtech denies Strasser's allegations. However, Wisconsin recognizes a claim for negligent design or manufacture of a product. See, e.g., Sharp v. Case Corp., 227 Wis. 2d 1, 18-19, 595 N.W.2d 380 (1999). See also Wis JI — Civil 3240. Wisconsin also recognizes a claim for negligent failure of a manufacturer or supplier of a product to warn of dangerous conditions in the product. See Wis JI — Civil 3242. Thus, the pleadings state claims for relief.
¶ 69. The next step is to examine the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, and affidavits to determine whether there exist genuine issues of material fact that preclude summary judgment. Wis. Stat. § 802.08(2). We view the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and ask whether under these facts the moving party has demonstrated that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Morris v. Juneau County, 219 Wis. 2d 543, 550, 579 N.W.2d 690 (1998).
¶ 70. The facts viewed in the light most favorable to Strasser are these. Recycled Fibers was a recycler that used cranes mounted onto trailers to pick up and move bales of cardboard and other paper materials for recycling. Strasser worked for Recycled Fibers as a *466truck driver and crane operator. Strasser operated the crane at issue from a seat about 13 feet in the air. Two ladders were mounted on the sides of the crane to enable the operator to reach the seat.
¶ 71. The ladders mounted on the crane before the accident (the "old ladders") had rungs that consisted of one and one-half inch steel plate. The pieces of steel were positioned so that the narrow edge, which was approximately one-quarter inch in width, pointed up. Grooves were cut into the top of the rung. In other words, a person looking at the old ladders from the front would see the wide, flat side of the steel plate, but a person climbing the ladder would step on a flat, narrow edge with grooves.
¶ 72. The old ladders were not strong enough to sustain the recycling work. They often bent and twisted and became detached from the crane assembly. One of the old ladders on the crane in question had been removed completely. The other was so damaged that it was beyond repair. Although the old ladders were rickety, Strasser testified that he had never slipped on them.
¶ 73. Darryl Frick was the president of Trans-tech, a mobile fleet maintenance and repair company that had contracted to do certain maintenance and repair work for Recycled Fibers, including maintenance and repair of the company's trailers and cranes. Frick was familiar with the crane in question because Transtech regularly maintained the crane and trailer.
¶ 74. Recycled Fibers asked Frick to put new, sturdier ladders on the crane in question. Recycled Fibers told Frick that it wanted sturdier ladders and that it wanted safety treads on the rungs. Frick knew that it was important that the steps not be slippery, because hydraulic fluid from the crane sometimes *467leaked onto the steps and because the operators sometimes had to climb the ladder in the rain. However, Frick specifically informed Recycled Fibers that he did not have the material to make safety tréads and did not know where to get it.
¶ 75. On approximately March 29, 1994, Frick fabricated new ladders for the crane, without stair treads. He fabricated new uprights from three-inch square tubing. He constructed new rungs made out of trailer U-bolts, which are large threaded bolts in the shape of a "U". Frick cut the "U" off of each bolt, leaving two straight sections. When these sections were installed into the new ladders as rungs, about three-quarters of each rung was covered with threaded grooves. Approximately two and one-half inches of each rung was smooth.
¶ 76. It is undisputed that Recycled Fibers took the completed crane and began using it, despite the fact that Frick had been unable to install safety treads on the ladder rungs. In addition, Strasser admits that the new ladders were stronger and sturdier than the old ones and that the new rungs provided a wider footing. •
¶ 77. Strasser's complaint is that the new ladders were more slippery than the old ones. He claims that after Frick installed the new ladders, he experienced problems with slipperiness. He alleges that he told his supervisor and a dispatcher at Recycled Fibers about these problems. In addition, Frick could not rule out the possibility that Strasser mentioned having slipped on the new ladder. However, it is undisputed that Recycled Fibers did not return the ladder to Frick for installation of safety treads.
¶ 78. On June 7, 1994, a drizzly day, Strasser slipped on the bottom rung as he was climbing down *468the ladder. He fell four and one-half feet to the pavement and seriously injured his right knee. He seeks to hold Transtech liable for his injury on the theory that Transtech negligently designed and manufactured the ladder.
¶ 79. As already noted, Wisconsin recognizes a claim for ordinary negligence in design, construction, and manufacture of a product. See Sharp, 227 Wis. 2d at 18-19 (discussing causes of action for negligent manufacture and strict products liability). See also Wis JI — Civil 3240. Moreover, a person who negligently completes a repair may be liable under ordinary principles of negligence. Colton v. Foulkes, 259 Wis. 142, 147-48, 47 N.W.2d 901 (1951).
¶ 80. However, this court may preclude an ordinary negligence claim when public policy considerations lead to the conclusion that liability "' "would shock the conscience of society."' "Rolph, 159 Wis. 2d at 534 (citations omitted). The public policy considerations include: (1) whether the injury is too remote from the negligence, (2) whether the injury is too wholly out of proportion to the tortfeasor's culpability, (3) whether in retrospect it seems too extraordinary that the negligence would have resulted in the harm, (4) whether allowing recovery would place too unreasonable a burden on the tortfeasor, (5) whether allowing recovery would open the way for fraudulent claims, and (6) whether allowing recovery would enter a field that has no sensible or just stopping point. Id. at 534 (quoting Coffey v. Milwaukee, 74 Wis. 2d 526, 541, 247 N.W.2d 132 (1976)).
¶ 81. Based on these public policy concerns, this court held in Rolph that a reconditioner of machinery has no duty to bring machines into compliance with applicable safety standards unless the reconditioner *469holds itself out as bringing machines into compliance with safety standards or is requested to do so by the machine's owner. Rolph, 159 Wis. 2d at 524. Transtech argues that Rolph bars Strasser's claims.
¶ 82. The plaintiff in Rolph was injured when his hand got caught in a "bending roll" machine. Id. at 523-25. The plaintiff brought claims against the manufacturer of the machine for strict products liability, negligent design and manufacture, and negligent failure to warn. Id. at 525. The manufacturer brought a third-party action against a company that had reconditioned the machine approximately two years before the plaintiffs injury. Id. Reconditioning of the machine was understood to mean "disassembly, cleaning, inspecting parts for wear, and replacing certain parts." Id. at 526 (emphasis added).
¶ 83. This court held that strict products liability could not be imposed on the reconditioner because a reconditioner is not a manufacturer. Id. at 532.
¶ 84. Furthermore, this court rejected the ordinary negligence claim against the reconditioner, on grounds of public policy. Id. at 535. We explained that "[imposing liability on [the reconditioner] for failing to correct a design defect simply because it reconditioned the machine would make all repairers who disassemble a product in order to repair it insurers against design defects created by manufacturers." Id. Recovery would contravene public policy because it would enter a field with no sensible or just stopping point. Id. at 535-36. Therefore there was no duty on the part of the recondi-tioner to correct design flaws in a machine unless the reconditioner either held itself out as a business that would bring machines into compliance with specific safety standards, or was requested to bring the *470machine into compliance with such standards. Id. at 536-37.
¶ 85. Like the reconditioner in Rolph, Transtech was not a manufacturer, seller, or supplier of cranes or ladders. Transtech was merely a repairer or recondi-tioner. Recycled Fibers asked Transtech to construct replacement ladders for the crane assembly in a limited period of time. Although Recycled Fibers asked for stair treads, there were no such treads on the old ladders, and Frick informed Recycled Fibers that he did not have any material with which to make such treads.
¶ 86. Under these circumstances, as in Rolph, public policy should bar Strasser's claim. Imposing liability on Transtech under these circumstances runs the risk of exposing every business that repairs equipment to liability if parts must be fabricated to complete the repair. See Rolph, 159 Wis. 2d at 535-36 ("Every business that services equipment would be exposed to liability if the repair required disassembly of the product."). Repairers would be exposed to an unreasonable burden and would be discouraged from engaging in preventative maintenance and repair. As in Rolph, "[s]uch liability would shock the conscience of society because it would have no sensible or just stopping point." Id. at 536.
¶ 87. The majority contends that Rolph is distinguishable because while the reconditioner in Rolph only restored a machine to its original condition, Transtech built new ladders for the crane with different rungs. Majority op. at ¶¶ 45-49. However, as Judge Curley stated in her concurrence in the unpublished decision of the court of appeals,
Frick's role in replacing the ladders on the crane is similar to that of the machine repairman in Rolph *471who disassembled, cleaned, inspected parts for wear and replaced certain parts. The only significant difference in the facts here and the Rolph scenario is the size of the products fixed by the repairmen... ,2
It seems likely that repairers are often unable to obtain original parts for equipment and therefore fabricate replacement parts. For example, a bicycle repair shop that is unable to obtain an original replacement part might fabricate a replacement. If the replacement part failed and resulted in damages, under the majority's theory the shop could be held liable for "negligent manufacture" or "negligent design" of the replacement part, even if the'bicycle owner took delivery of the bicycle with full knowledge that a fabricated part had been installed to make do in a pinch.
¶ 88. The majority itself admits that the line between "reconditioning" and "manufacture" is quite a narrow one. Majority op. at ¶ 43 (admitting that it is "understandable" to conclude that Transtech was a reconditioner that did not have a duty to install ladder treads). Liability should not turn on such a fine distinction.
¶ 89. It is clear that neither of the exceptions set forth in Rolph apply to this case. Transtech did not hold itself out as a business that could bring equipment into compliance with safety standards, and Recycled Fibers did not request that Transtech make the ladders compliant with any particular standards. See Rolph, 159 Wis. 2d at 537 (explaining that failure to meet specific safety standards may provide a basis for negligence if the reconditioner holds itself out as bringing machines *472into compliance with present engineering standards, or is requested to bring a particular machine into compliance with such standards).
¶ 90. Under these conditions, this court should adhere to precedent and hold that Rolph bars Trans-tech's claim. Accordingly, I dissent.
¶ 91. I am authorized to state that Justice N. PATRICK CROOKS joins this dissent.

 All future references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 1995-96 volumes unless otherwise noted.

 Strasser v. Transtech Mobile Fleet Serv. Inc., No. 98-1581, unpublished slip op. (Wis. Ct. App. Aug 31, 1999)(Curley, J., concurring).