Defense Verdict In Wrongful Death Suit

April 1, 2004

William T. DelHagen and Paul R. Flaherty of the firm's Product Liability Group won a defense verdict in a wrongful death case arising from a single car rollover accident on I-5 near Fresno. Eric P. Weiss of the Law and Motion department provided essential support, including winning a critical Motion for Protective Order to protect the client's trade secrets and confidential business information.

Plaintiff's decedent, Charles Snyder, a charismatic young commercial banker, was returning to San Francisco from San Diego with a friend, Amber Cagle, at the wheel of his car. The left rear tire suffered an impact which caused the tire to fail several hundred miles later, while traveling between 80 and 90 miles per hour. The driver over-corrected, causing the vehicle to leave the road and roll several times, inflicting fatal injuries on decedent Snyder.

Decedent's parents, James and Margaret Snyder, sued Winston Tire Company, which allegedly sold the tire; The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, which manufactured the tire, and the driver, Amber Cagle, alleging causes of action in strict products liability and negligence. When plaintiffs proved unable to articulate an independent negligence claim against Winston, Goodyear assumed Winston's defense.

After protracted discovery disputes, the matter proceeded to trial solely on a manufacturing defect theory. At trial, plaintiffs' expert alleged that the tire's steel belts were not correctly located within the tire and that the rubber under the tread area as too thin, causing the tire to fail to survive an ordinary impact. Goodyear presented evidence that the tire met the applicable manufacturing tolerances and that the construction of the tire was not related to its failure. Instead, the impact on the tire experienced was so severe that it visibly damaged the aluminum rim and breached the inner liner of the tire, ultimately causing the tire to fail.

The jury deliberated almost four days before returning a defense verdict.