SCRANTON – A Mississippi widower has rescinded a request for punitive damages from a Mount Union company whose natural gas heater was allegedly defective and responsible for the death of his wife, who passed away two weeks after allegedly being burned by the device in her kitchen.
U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson entered an order on April 24 which permitted plaintiff William Scott Etheridge to remove his claim for punitive damages without prejudice and file an amended complaint to that effect, mooting prior motions to dismiss and for extension of time to respond to the action from the defendant. In addition, the defendant would then have 30 days to respond to the amended complaint.
William Scott Etheridge of Holly Springs, Miss., initially filed a complaint on Feb. 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania against World Marketing of America (doing business as “Kozy-World”) of Mount Union.
The complaint alleged his wife, Doris Jean Etheridge, died after flames from a Kozy-World Wall Heater installed in their home “protruded outside of the grated barrier” on March 18, 2019, catching her shirt on fire and resulting in severe burns that led to her hospitalization and death. She passed away on April 1, 2019.
Etheridge alleged the heater had an inherent design defect and that it was used in his home without substantial change to the condition under which Kozy-World marketed and sold the product.
He added the company “failed to conform to federal requirements for labels, warnings and instructions” and “knew or should have known that the product created significant risks of serious bodily harm and death to consumers.”
On April 13, World Marketing of America filed a motion to dismiss all punitive damages from the complaint.
“Plaintiff has failed to allege any grounds justifying punitive damages resulting from the Mississippi Incident. Punitive damages are not available for ordinary negligence or gross negligence. Punitive damages may not be awarded where plaintiff fails to allege facts that demonstrate the requisite state of mind on behalf of the defendant in the complaint. Conclusory statements without factual allegations are insufficient to meet the standard,” the dismissal motion read, in part.
“Plaintiff’s complaint alleges claims for strict products liability, with respect to manufacturing, design, and allegedly insufficient warnings as well as negligence. Plaintiff’s complaint asserts no facts supporting the necessary elements of willful, wanton, and reckless conduct to meet the standard for imposition of punitive damages against World Marketing. Without those allegations, plaintiff’s claim for punitive damages cannot survive.”
World Marketing of America argued the plaintiff’s failure to assert allegations which could support an award of punitive damages meant that the plaintiff’s complaint failed to state a claim for punitive damages upon which relief could be granted, and thus, all such claims must be dismissed from the complaint.
Per the recent judicial order, the dismissal motion was mooted.
The plaintiff is represented by Jaime Jackson of Atlee Hall in Lancaster and Patrick M. Ardis of Wolff Ardis, in Memphis, Tenn.
The defendant is represented by Sean D. Magenis of McCoy Leavitt Laskey in Falmouth, Maine and Bradley D. Remick of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania case 1:20-cv-00272
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com