Sears, Roebuck And Co. v. Midcap

893 A.2d 542 (2006)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

A gas explosion occurred at P's home. P died as a result of that explosion. The family home was a mere hole in the ground. The cause was a propane leak that originated from a kitchen range that the Ps had purchased from Sears (D) in November 1995. Southern (D) was the gas supplier and owned the propane cylinders and the regulator components of Ps' propane system. Ps filed a survival and wrongful death action against Ds. Ps' insurer filed a subrogation action against Ds. Ps' claim against Southern (D) was that Southern (D) had not exercised due care in inspecting Ps' propane supply system. Ps offered the expert testimony of Bullerdiek to support its negligence claim. The trial court permitted Bullerdiek to testify but precluded him from opining that the 'GAS Check' program, which was a voluntary inspection program, constituted the relevant standard of care in the propane supply industry. The program had not been adopted as a mandatory program by any state or federal agency. Some suppliers do implement the program by performing an inspection when a new customer is added or upon request. Ps got the verdict against Sears (D). The jury returned a verdict in favor of Southern (D). Ps’ appealed on the issue with Southern (D).