SCRANTON – Summary judgment motions have been filed in a lawsuit between a Mississippi widower and a Mount Union company litigating over claims concerning an allegedly defective natural gas heater which may have been responsible for the death of the plaintiff’s wife.
William Scott Etheridge of Holly Springs, Miss. first filed a complaint on Feb. 14, 2020 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 two weeks later, 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, 2020, 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, and 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.
After a federal judge dismissed the prospect of punitive damages, Etheridge filed his amended complaint minus the punitive damages count on May 4, and World Marketing of America filed its answer on June 2, which asserted a number of affirmative defenses relieving it of liability.
On Nov. 13, 2020, World Marketing of America’s counsel filed to transfer the case to a Mississippi federal court.
“Plaintiff purchased a World Marketing KWN191 Infrared Vent-Free Natural Gas Space Heater at Teddy’s Hardware in Holly Springs, Miss. and installed it in his Holly Springs, Miss. residence in 2016. The heater was fueled by natural gas supplied by the Holly Springs, Miss. Utility Department, via a gas piping system installed by another Holly Springs resident,” the transfer motion stated.
“This action, alleging claims for negligence and products liability arising out of injury to a Mississippi resident, in Mississippi, allegedly caused by a product purchased in Mississippi, should be transferred to Mississippi pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. Section 1404(a).”
Likewise, attorneys for Etheridge filed a brief opposing any such transfer on Nov. 27, 2020.
“In the present case, World Marketing operates its business exclusively from its offices in Mill Creek, Pennsylvania. It does not enter into any contracts with retailers in Mississippi. It is not registered to transact business in the state of Mississippi, and a review of the PACER system reveals that it has not litigated any lawsuits in Mississippi. It owns no real property in the state of Mississippi, and employs no employees in Mississippi. The record is devoid of any evidence of World Marketing’s distribution agreements relating to the state of Mississippi,” the plaintiff’s brief read, in part.
“World Marketing has not produced any evidence of the quality and quantity of its contacts with Mississippi, including but not limited to how many products it has sold within the state recently, or how much revenue it annually gleans from Mississippi. World Marketing is silent as to how its contacts with Mississippi support that it should anticipate being hauled into court in the state, or how it has established a substantial relationship with the state.”
UPDATE
In April 2021, the motion to transfer the case was denied by U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Judge Jennifer P. Wilson.
On Jan. 28, both sides filed motions for summary judgment in the action, with the plaintiff’s being a partial motion.
“Briefly, following discovery and extensive testing of the subject heater in this case, the undisputed facts show that (1) the protruding flame was caused by years of dust and dirt buildup in the heater burners and not by any manufacturing or design defect, (2) Ms. Etheridge was aware of the protruding flame prior to the incident, and (3) Ms. Etheridge was standing immediately next to the heater when the incident occurred,” per the company’s summary judgment motion.
In contrast, the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment argued that the company’s “innocent seller” defense only applied under Mississippi law, and thus, was not applicable in a Pennsylvania court.
“World Marketing is not an innocent seller who is ‘not actively negligent.’ World Marketing had explicit knowledge of the propensity of the flames to become ‘unanchored’ to the ceramic plaques of this heater prior to selling a single unit. This is evidenced by the language in its own owner’s manual, however confusing it may be to the normal reader. World Marketing’s negligence is also supported by the internal documentation which it received from Pro-Com, yet failed to pass along to its customers,” the plaintiff’s summary judgment motion stated.
“World Marketing was given further notice of the defect after it began to sell units by way of the Williams lawsuit and the numerous customer complaints it received in the years of 2010-2018. Despite the explicit knowledge of the defect, World Marketing failed to take any action to recall the heater, update the warnings associated with the heater or to protect potential users in any way. Thus, World Marketing had actual knowledge of the defective condition of the heater at the time it was supplied to the plaintiff, and cannot seek shelter under the ‘innocent seller’ provision of the Mississippi Product Liability Act.”
The plaintiff is represented by Jaime Jackson of Atlee Hall in Lancaster, plus Daniel V. Parish and Patrick M. Ardis of Wolff Ardis, in Memphis, Tenn.
The defendant is represented by John G. Hansen, Nicholas D. Harken and Sean D. Magenis of McCoy Leavitt Laskey in Lenexa, Kan., Waukesha, Wis. and Falmouth, Maine, plus 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