LOVICK V. WIL-RICH
588 N.W.2d 688 (1999)
NATURE OF THE CASE: Wil-Rich (D), the manufacturer of a farm cultivator, appealed a
decision, which entered judgment in favor of Lovick (P), farmer and his wife, in their
products liability action and which awarded them compensatory and punitive damages.
FACTS: P pulled ae cultivator to a field with a tractor. The wings of the cultivator were
in the upright, vertical position to accommodate its transportation. Once in the field, P
attempted to unfold or lower the wings into position to begin cultivation. P positioned
himself under the left wing of the cultivator to remove the first pin. The wing immediately
fell when the pin was removed. P was severely injured. Later investigation revealed the wing
fell when P removed the pin because the linkage attaching the cylinder to the wing had
broken. Consequently, the pin was the only device holding the wing in its upright position
at the time it was removed. D first introduced the vertical fold model cultivator in 1971.
It manufactured approximately 35,000 units. This particular cultivator was manufactured in
1981. Rotgers who purchased the cultivator was at least the second owner. It contained a
warning sign which cautioned the operator to remove the pin prior to lowering the wings. The
operator's manual further warned against going under the wings to remove the pins. In 1983,
D received a report that a wing of one of its cultivators had fallen and injured the
operator. It received eight other such reports. In 1988, D began to affix a warning label to
the cultivators it manufactured to caution operators of the danger of going under the wing
to remove the pin. In 1994, D began a campaign to notify owners of its cultivators of the
danger of falling wings. It also made a backup safety latch kit available for installation
on the wings. P sued D in strict liability and negligence seeking compensatory and punitive
damages. P introduced evidence that Deere & Company, instituted a safety program in 1983 for
its similarly designed cultivator after learning of instances of the wing falling on the
operator. The Deere & Company program included efforts to locate the cultivator owners, and
equip the existing cultivators with a wing safety latch and an upgraded warning label. The
trial court submitted the case to the jury on the strict liability theory of defective
design and the negligence claim of breach of a post-sale duty to warn. It also submitted
punitive damages on the negligence claim. The jury returned a verdict in the amount of
$2,057,000. The verdict included $500,000 in punitive damages and $400,000 in loss of
consortium to P's wife. D appealed.
ISSUE:
RULE OF LAW:
HOLDING AND DECISION:
LEGAL ANALYSIS:
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