Nemmers v. Ford Motor Co., No. 11-2505 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff Kayla Nemmers filed a products liability action against Defendant Ford Motor Company, alleging that a lap-only seatbelt installed in the front-center seat of a 2002 Ford pickup failed to restrain her torso during an accident. After trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Ford. Nemmers appealed, arguing that the district court committed reversible error by making certain evidentiary rulings, by refusing to dismiss certain jurors for cause, and by failing to admonish defense counsel for remarks made during closing argument. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not err in its evidentiary rulings; (2) did not err by refusing to dismiss certain jurors for cause; and (3) did not abuse its discretion in failing to give a curative instruction after defense counsel made remarks during closing argument.
Court Description: Civil case - Products liability. Challenges to evidentiary rulings rejected; plaintiff failed to show that each challenged prospective juror was unable to lay aside his or her impressions or opinions and return a verdict based upon the evidence produced at trial, and the district court did not abuse its discretion by failing to dismiss the challenged jurors for cause; there was evidentiary support for defense counsel's closing argument that the other passengers in the vehicle removed plaintiff from the vehicle after the accident, and the district court did not err in overruling her objection to the comment and denying her request for a curative instruction.
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