Friedman v. General Motors Corp., Sup. Ct. Of Ohio,

43 Ohio St.2d 209, 331 N.E. 2d 702 (1975).

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Freidman (Ps) and their son, Sheldon, and their daughter, Susan, were driving east on Lake Road in Lorain County. Their automobile, a 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, had been purchased some 17 months before. P pulled into a gasoline station on the north side of the highway, stopped behind a Rambler which was being serviced at the forward pump of the gasoline pump island, and, after waiting for a short period, turned off the ignition. P was motioned to pull ahead to the forward set of pumps, and as he turned on the ignition key and started the engine, the Toronado moved forward. It 'peeled' away from the gasoline pumps, bounced off the Rambler and a telephone pole, careened across the street into a commercial parking lot, and crashed into the steel support posts of a large sign. The front end of the Toronado was heavily damaged. The transmission linkages under the hood were jammed so that the gear selector lever could not be shifted into Neutral, Reverse, or Park. All four occupants of the car sustained injuries. Ps filed suit against D. The complaint alleges that the collisions which followed '* * * were directly caused by defective mechanisms in the car sold by Ds; and by the misrepresentations of the Ds that the car could not be started in Drive position.' At trial the police testified that neither the garage attendant, nor the driver of the Rambler, mentioned mechanical failure on the part of the Toronado in their accident reports. The officers testified that the gas pedal of the Toronado was stuck to the floor, but that this was also based solely upon supposition. the peel marks of the accelerating automobile were 85 feet and had begun at the middle of the gasoline pump island. From that date to the date of the accident, no adjustment was made to the neutral start switch, n1 the gear shift indicator needle, or the transmission linkage. Neither the shift tube itself, the neutral start switch, nor the gear shift indicator, were damaged in the collision. No post-accident repairs were made until the automobile had been inspected by representatives of both Ps and Ds. An expert did start the damaged car and found that the front wheels started rotating rapidly, accelerating to 30 miles per hour in five seconds. The acceleration of the front wheels was so rapid that the car would move forward. Ps testified to the rapid acceleration. At the close of evidence, D motioned for a directed verdict, and it was granted. The Court of Appeals reversed holding that reasonable minds could differ on the evidence. D appealed.