James Owens sued Paul Edward Nelkie and General Motors Corporation after Owens wrecked his GM truck, alleging that Nelkie’s negligence caused the wreck and GM’s defective seat belt and air bags caused Owens to suffer extensive injuries. Patsy Owens also sued for loss of consortium. Owens subsequently dismissed Nelkie from the suit with prejudice, and GM moved for summary judgment. The company argued that Owens failed to present “qualified” expert testimony regarding the existence of a manufacturing or design defect, and failed to present expert testimony about the proximate cause of Owen’s enhanced injuries. The trial court granted the motion, and the Owens appealed. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to GM on Owens’ claims of negligence, fraudulent concealment, breach of warranties, and punitive damages, but reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment on Owens’ strict liability claim. In this case, Owens contended that, because his seat belt did not lock and his air bag did not inflate, he hit his dashboard and windshield. If these safety features had worked, he contended, he would not have suffered any significant injuries, but their failure to function along with the other driver’s negligence proximately caused his injuries. Owens sued GM for negligence, strict liability, fraudulent concealment, breach of warranties, and punitive damages. Mrs. Owens sued for loss of consortium. He appeals only the trial court’s summary judgment grant on his strict liability and negligence claims.
A collision repair technician certified in passenger restraint systems testified that he had been working on vehicles for 21 years, and had attended numerous classes about seat belts and air bags. He repaired Owens’ vehicle, a brand-new black 1996 GM Sierra truck with about 200 miles on it, and noted that someone from GM came out to his shop twice to check the truck’s air bag. The technician said that the steering wheel had folded over at the top and the rear view mirror had hair in it where Owens’ head had struck it. In his opinion, both the seat belt and the air bag systems were defective. When the truck came to his shop, the seat belt was unwound and lying stretched out over the seat. After explaining how the locking mechanism in seat belt restraint systems deployed when the nose of a car dipped forward, the technician demonstrated that the seat belt mechanism from Owens’ truck did not lock properly. In his opinion, this seat belt system was defective.
