Negligence
Blasius v. Angel
Automotive, Inc., No. 15-2994 (October 12, 2016) N.D. Ind.,
S. Bend Div.
Automotive, Inc., No. 15-2994 (October 12, 2016) N.D. Ind.,
S. Bend Div.
Reversed and remanded
Dist. Ct. erred in granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment in action
alleging that defendant was negligent in performing certain repairs/upgrades on
plaintiff’s truck that caused said truck to catch fire. While Dist. Ct. found
that plaintiff could not prove causation where his expert did not state that
fire was more likely than not caused by defendant’s repair work, Ct. of Appeals
found that expert’s overall assessment created triable issue on causation
question, where expert indicated that fluid system leak(s) constituted most
likely scenario for fire, and where defendant’s repair work encompassed removal
and reattachment of all relevant fluid lines in plaintiff’s truck. Moreover,
record showed that fire started after plaintiff had driven truck 200 miles, and
defendant’s personnel told plaintiff that fuel line leak may have started fire.
Dist. Ct. also erred in finding that doctrine of res ipsa loquitur did not
apply, where: (1) any reasonably probable causes of fire (i.e. fluid line
leaks) were under defendant’s control during instant repair job; (2) while
plaintiff was in possession of truck at time of fire, no other entity had
performed services on fluid lines subsequent to instant repair; and (3) instant
vehicle fire arising out of new parts does not occur as matter of course.