Corwin v. Connecticut Valley Arms, Inc.

Citations: 74 F. Supp. 3d 883; 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160740; 2014 WL 6460173Docket: No. 13 C 4579

Court: District Court, N.D. Illinois; November 16, 2014; Federal District Court

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Keith Corwin sustained permanent injuries when a rifle he attempted to fire exploded in his left hand. He filed a lawsuit under diversity jurisdiction against several parties responsible for manufacturing parts of the rifle and bullet, asserting claims of negligence, strict liability, breaches of express and implied warranties, and seeking punitive damages. The bullet manufacturer, Accura, filed a motion to dismiss Corwin's claims under Rule 12(b)(6), contending that Corwin had not provided sufficient factual allegations as required by federal pleading standards.

The court agreed with Accura and dismissed Corwin's claims against it without prejudice. Corwin's incident occurred on June 24, 2011, while he was using Accura-manufactured 0.50 caliber bullets in a muzzleloader. He alleged that the barrel was defective due to being made of weak steel and that the bullets caused increased barrel pressure, leading to the explosion. After initially suing multiple defendants, Corwin dismissed claims against most, leaving Accura, its parent company BPI, and Dikar as the remaining parties. He claims to have experienced lost wages, pain, suffering, mental anguish, and significant medical expenses, with expectations of future treatment costs.

Accura's motion addressed Corwin's third amended complaint, following earlier motions to dismiss similar claims in prior complaints. The court, in evaluating a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, accepted Corwin's well-pleaded facts as true but determined that he did not meet the necessary pleading requirements to proceed with his claims against Accura.

To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must present sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to establish a plausible claim for relief. The federal pleading standard requires that a plaintiff provide enough detail to give the defendant fair notice of the claim and its grounds, demonstrating plausibility rather than speculation. Accura contends that Plaintiff's allegations lack factual basis and merely rephrase legal elements as assertions, which they argue are inadequate under the standards set forth in Twombly and Iqbal. Conversely, Plaintiff cites Bausch v. Stryker Corp. to argue that product liability claims necessitate less specificity in pleading, asserting that his complaint is sufficient to proceed with discovery.

In addressing Count I: Negligence, the court outlines that a negligence claim in product liability must show duty, breach, proximate cause, and damages. A manufacturer has a nondelegable duty to design a reasonably safe product, with the core issue being whether reasonable care was exercised in the design. Plaintiff claims that the Accura bullets were defective, leading to an explosion, which is presented as the sole basis for his assertion of breach of duty. However, the complaint lacks detailed factual allegations explaining the nature of the defect or how it caused increased barrel pressures, rendering the claim legally insufficient as it relies on a legal conclusion rather than factual elaboration.

Although Plaintiff indicated he would enhance his factual allegations post-expert report, the court typically only considers the complaint's content when evaluating a motion to dismiss. Nonetheless, the court reviewed the expert report, which identifies a design defect in the Accura bullet, stating that the bullet's diameter should be smaller to avoid pressure issues that could lead to barrel rupture. The expert's assertions provide some factual context but were not included in the original complaint, raising questions about the sufficiency of Plaintiff's negligence claim against Accura.

Powell argues that the muzzleloader's bore diameter is .498 instead of the expected .500, leading to bullets engaging the rifle's lands prematurely, which can result in increased barrel pressures and explosions, particularly with weak barrels. He suggests that if a bullet separates in the chamber, it could further raise pressures. The court expresses doubt that an amended complaint incorporating Powell's findings could withstand a Rule 12(b)(6) motion due to a lack of clarity on how a .499 bullet could fit in a .498 chamber. Powell's assertion that manufacturers should design bullets for .498 barrels lacks sufficient basis, suggesting that the rifle, not the bullet, may be defective. Additionally, Powell claims Accura was uninformed about barrel materials and characteristics, recommending more product testing and warnings about the current bullet design's hazards. However, these claims are deemed too conclusory to survive legal scrutiny, as the plaintiff must provide specific facts demonstrating Accura’s negligence regarding barrel standards. Consequently, Count I (negligence) against Accura is dismissed.

For Count II (strict product liability), Illinois law requires that the injury must arise from an unreasonably dangerous condition of the product present at the time it left the manufacturer. The distinction between negligence and strict liability lies in the focus on the product's condition versus the manufacturer's fault. The court finds that the strict product liability claim fails because it lacks factual connections to the legal elements required under Twombly and Iqbal, particularly regarding the bullet's alleged defects or inadequate warnings. Specific details about the packaging warnings are absent, leading to the dismissal of Count II against Accura as well.

To establish a breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the seller knew of the buyer's specific purpose for the goods, that the buyer relied on the seller's expertise, and that the seller was aware of this reliance. For a breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, the plaintiff must allege that the goods sold were not merchantable at the time of sale, that they suffered damages from the defective goods, and that they notified the seller of the defect. The plaintiff claims that Accura impliedly warranted its bullets to be of good and merchantable quality, safe for their intended use, and free from defects, but alleges the bullet was defective, resulting in damages due to reliance on these warranties. The court finds these allegations insufficient, as they do not provide specific facts to elevate the claim beyond speculation. The plaintiff needs to detail the defect in the bullet for merchantability claims or specify the particular purpose for using the bullet and Accura's knowledge of it for particular purpose claims.

For breach of express warranty, the plaintiff must show that the seller made a factual affirmation regarding the goods that formed the basis of the bargain and guaranteed conformity to that affirmation. The plaintiff asserts that Accura expressly warranted its bullets as safe and free from defects, but the court concludes these claims are also insufficient, as they amount to a mere recitation of the legal standard without detailing the specific affirmation or promise that constituted the basis of the bargain. Although the plaintiff referenced packaging language in response to a motion to dismiss, he has not amended the complaint to incorporate these specifics. Consequently, the court grants Accura’s motion to dismiss both Count III (breach of implied warranty) and Count IV (breach of express warranty) of the plaintiff's third amended complaint.

The court expresses skepticism regarding the language used on the packaging of Accura's bullets, indicating that it likely reflects opinions about the product's quality rather than affirmations of fact, which are necessary to establish an express warranty. The burden lies with the plaintiff to present fact-based allegations to support the express warranty claim, but mere references to exhibits do not meet the pleading standards set by Twombly and Iqbal. Consequently, the court grants Accura’s motion to dismiss Count IV (breach of express warranty) from the plaintiff’s third amended complaint.

The court distinguishes the case from Bausch v. Stryker Corp., noting that in Bausch, the plaintiff faced limitations in accessing information about a defective medical device, whereas no such restrictions exist in this case. The plaintiff has already conducted some discovery, suggesting the potential to amend the complaint with fact-based allegations.

Regarding Count V (punitive damages), the court finds that this claim was incorrectly framed as a separate cause of action. Under Illinois law, punitive damages are a remedy rather than an independent claim. The court requires proof of moral culpability in Accura's conduct to justify such damages. With all claims against Accura dismissed, the request for punitive damages also fails. The court grants Accura’s motion to strike Count V.

In the conclusion, the court reiterates that the plaintiff has not met the federal pleading standards, resulting in the dismissal of claims for negligence, strict product liability, and breach of implied and express warranties without prejudice. The plaintiff is given 21 days to file an amended complaint addressing the identified deficiencies. The court also confirms the diversity of citizenship among the parties involved, establishing the jurisdictional basis for the case.

BPI serves as the corporate successor to Connecticut Valley Arms, Inc., both sharing Georgia citizenship for this case. Defendant Dikar, S. Coop. Ltda., a Spanish corporation, is identified as the manufacturer of the rifle involved. Hodgdon Powder Company, Inc. is incorporated in Kansas, while Remington Arms Company, LLC is organized under Delaware law, with its principal operations in North Carolina. The citizenship of Remington is thus Delaware and North Carolina, relevant for diversity jurisdiction. Connecticut Valley Arms, Hodgdon Powder Company, and Remington Arms have been dismissed as Defendants, leaving unnamed Defendants referred to as 'John Does 1-5,' treated as nominal parties that do not affect diversity jurisdiction. The Plaintiff claims over $75,000 in damages, establishing the court's diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(3). Illinois law governs the dispute, as agreed by the parties, since the injury occurred there. The incident involved a BPI/Dikar Magbolt 150 0.50 Caliber In-Line Muzzleloader rifle, which exploded when fired from the hip. It remains uncertain whether the firing method contributed to the injuries. The court notes that the Plaintiff's implied warranty claims lack sufficient factual basis to survive a motion to dismiss, and it does not address Accura's challenge regarding differing legal theories. Additionally, it is unclear if a referenced photo shows a random Accura bullet or the specific box related to the incident.