Moore v. Ford Motor Company

332 S.W.3d 749 (2011)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In April 2005, Ps purchased a 2002 Ford Explorer. On November 1, 2005, the day of the accident, P was 6 feet tall and weighed approximately 300 pounds. P was stopped to make a left turn when she was hit from behind by another vehicle. The driver's seat collapsed backward and P's head and shoulders hit the back seat, fracturing her T9 vertebra. She is a paraplegic. Ps sued D for negligent failure to warn, strict liability failure to warn, negligent design and strict liability design defect. Nowhere in the owner's manual or on the on-product labels did Ford tell people who might use the Explorer that it intended the front seats to collapse in a rear impact. Ps claim had they been warned they may never have bought the car. P testified she paid attention to weight warnings when she purchased product and that she routinely read warnings, instructions, and manuals if they involved something in which she was interested. Prior to purchase P had looked through the owner's manual for information about other matters and, in doing so, saw no listing of maximum weight limits for the front seats. She saw no warnings that the seats of the Explorer might collapse backward in a rear-end impact. P testified that she would not have bought the Explorer had she known that the seats were not designed for people of her size. D moved for a directed verdict on all counts. D cited that a failure to warn claim could not be based on a 'time of purchase' theory that the consumer would not have purchased the product had a more adequate warning been given. The trial court accepted D's argument that consumers must show that the warning would have affected their conduct at the time of the accident or injury. The jury returned a general verdict in favor of D. P appealed.