Simon v. Ford Motor Co.

This damage suit arose out of an automobile accident caused by the failure of the steering mechanism of defendant’s vehicle. Plaintiff William J. Simon sought damages from Sammie Ferrington, the owner and driver of the offending automobile; from Allstate Insurance Company, Ferrington’s insurer; from Ford Motor Company, the manufacturer; from Hub City Motors, Inc., the dealer who first received the car from Ford; from Hardware Mutual Casualty Company, Hub City’s insurer; from Mcllwain Motor Company, Inc., of Columbia, Louisiana, Ferrington’s vendor; and from Bituminous Casualty Corporation, Mcllwain’s insurer.

The trial court rendered judgment against Ferrington and Allstate Insurance Company in favor of plaintiff Simon for $18,116.66, the judgment against Allstate being limited to its policy limits of $10,000.00. The Court of Appeal reversed the judgment against Ferrington and Allstate, and affirmed the judgments in favor of the other defendants. 256 So.2d 725. We granted plaintiff Simon’s application for writs. 260 La. 1127, 258 So.2d 378.

The accident occurred in July, 1968 near St. Francisville on U. S. 61, a two lane paved highway running north and south. Ferrington, with his sixteen year old daughter as a passenger, was driving his 1962 Ford Galaxie south toward Baton Rouge. Plaintiff Simon was driving his automobile north toward Woodville, Mississippi. Defendant Ferrington testified that as he neared plaintiff a loud popping noise occurred and the right front side of his car suddenly collapsed without warning. The car immediately veered to the left, out of control. A sideswiping collision resulted in the lane in which plaintiff Simon was traveling. Simon’s car then hit a bridge abutment and flipped into the bed of Grants Bayou.

The testimony of Ferrington and other witnesses indicates that there was a sudden failure in the right front ball joint assembly of Ferrington’s Ford automobile, which had registered 76,000 miles of service at the time of the accident. Ferrington, who repaired his own automobile following the accident, testified that he found that the ball had “pulled out” of the socket of the lower ball joint on the right front wheel. Experts testified that a separation of the ball joint from the socket of the ball joint assembly could happen suddenly and could create a loud popping noise. The experts further testified that, due to the construction of the steering linkage between the two front wheels, a collapse of the right ball joint would cause the left wheel to turn toward the left, forcing the automobile to veer to the left. The investigating officer testified of “scuff marks” on the pavement, which were apparently left by Ferrington’s right front tire. This indicates that the right front wheel had collapsed prior to the accident.

Although this testimony establishes a failure in one of the right front ball joint assemblies as the cause of the accident, there is no indication of the cause of the failure. After replacing the broken ball joint and retaining the broken parts for some time, Ferrington disposed of the old parts as junk prior to trial.

Because the record is void of any proof of the cause of the failure in the ball joint assembly, plaintiff Simon cannot prevail against Ford Motor Company, Hub City Motors, Inc., Hardware Mutual Casualty Company, Mcllwain Motor Company, Inc., or Bituminous Casualty Corporation.

To recover from Ferrington and his insurer, Allstate, plaintiff must either prove negligence on the part of Ferrington or rely on some theory of strict liability.

Ferrington’s automobile was manufactured by Ford Motor Company in 1962. The ball joint assembly in question was the original ball joint assembly riveted onto the automobile at the factory. The ball joint was lubricated by a special lubricant designed to last through 30,000 miles of driving and was sealed with a plug. When Ferrington purchased the automobile as a used car, the speedometer registered around 30,000 miles. The ball joint was still sealed with a plug. However, the Ford Motor Company expert, Mr. Robert L. Frey, testified at trial that the presence of the plug did not necessarily mean that the ball joint had not been lubricated because the plug could be replaced after lubrication.

After purchasing the used automobile, Ferrington, a heavy equipment operator capable of performing mechanical work, replaced the plug on the ball joint assembly with a fitting and greased the ball joint with his employer’s equipment. Ferrington continued to grease the ball joints at approximately 1000 mile intervals until the time of the accident. He testified that he never had any steering problems prior to the accident, nor did he notice any wobbling of the right front wheel prior to the sudden collapse which immediately preceded the unfortunate accident in July, 1968.

It is well established in Louisiana that when a collision occurs between two vehicles, one of which is in the wrong lane of travel, there is a presumption that the driver in the wrong lane was negligent, and that the burden is on him to show that the collision was not caused by his negligence. Jones v. Continental Casualty Company of Chicago, Illinois, 246 La. 921, 169 So.2d 50 (1964); Rizley v. Cutrer, 232 La. 655, 95 So.2d 139 (1957); Noland v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, 232 La. 569, 94 So.2d 671 (1957).

Evidence proved beyond a doubt that, once the ball joint failed, Ferrington could not have avoided the collision.

There is no evidence and no showing that Ferrington ever failed to do what a prudent automobile operator should have done in maintaining the steering mechanism on his automobile.

Ferrington proved that he lubricated the ball joints of his automobile carefully, frequently and correctly. He proved that the failure occurred without any prior warning whatsoever. Expert testimony tended to establish that defects or wear in ball joints could not be discovered during routine greasing operations. Ball joints, a part of the steering ffiechanism, are customarily checked by “front end” mechanics, who do so in the process of correcting some misalignment of the front wheels. Even then, the check consists of relieving some pressure from the coil springs on the front end, then checking the front wheels to determine whether there is excessive play. There are several movable parts in the front end where excessive wear might occur. The testimony fails to establish that there is any definite and measurable standard in performing such tests. Expert testimony tended to establish that hardly anyone goes to a mechanic specifically to have the ball joints checked.

We cannot gather from the record that Ferrington failed to take any action which a reasonable and careful automobile owner should have taken to guard against the risk of failure of the ball joint. He has successfully carried the burden of proving that the accident did not occur because of his negligence.

Nor are we willing in such a case to apply a doctrine of strict liability or a doctrine of liability without fault to Fer-rington to make him responsible for damages resulting from the mechanical failure of his automobile. See Cartwright v. Firemen’s Insurance Company of Newark, N.J., 254 La. 330, 223 So.2d 822 (1969).

The judgment of the Court of Appeal, rejecting the demands of the plaintiff, William J. Simon, against all defendants is affirmed, at plaintiff’s costs,

BARHAM, J., dissents with reasons.

TATE, J., dissents and assigns written reasons.

CALOGERO, J., dissents and assigns written reasons.

. See, C.O. art. 2317 and 43 Tul.L.Rev. 907 (1969).