Lindholm v. BMW of North America, LLC, No. 16-3516 (8th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseAlex Lindholm's parents filed suit against BMW after Alex died when a jack supplied by his car's manufacturer fell and killed him. Alex and his father used the jack to raise the car off the ground so that they could make repairs, the jack fell on Alex when he was lying underneath the car. The Eighth Circuit held, under South Dakota law, that Alex's misuse of the jack was not foreseeable as a matter of law, given the warnings that accompanied the jack about lying under the vehicle. Therefore, BMW was entitled to summary judgment as to the strict liability claim. In regard to the negligence and negligent-design claims, Alex's misuse of the jack also constituted contributory negligence, which barred plaintiffs from recovering. The court affirmed summary judgment as to these claims. Finally, the court affirmed the grant of summary judgment on the implied-warranties claim and the wrongful-death claim.
Court Description: Arnold, Author, with Wollman and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Products liability. In action alleging tire jack supplied by defendant was defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous, the district court did not err in concluding a reasonable jury would have to conclude that plaintiff's decedent misused the jack by using it for a purpose for which it was not intended; the misuse of the jack was not foreseeable as a matter of law, given the warnings accompanying it, and defendant was entitled to summary judgment on the plaintiff's strict-liability claim; with respect to plaintiff's negligence and negligent-design claims, the victim's misuse of the jack also constitutes contributory negligence which bars recovery under South Dakota law; defendant's summary judgment on plaintiff's wrongful-death claim affirmed. Home | Contact Us | Employment | Glossary of Legal Terms | Site Map | RSS Privacy Policy|BrowseAloud
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