Date: 04-05-2016

Case Style: Vanessa Serranto v. American Honda Motor Company

Case Number: CJ-2011-1871

Judge: Tom A. Lucas

Court: District Court, Cleveland County, Oklahoma

Plaintiff's Attorney: Scott Hawkins and , Richard Denney, Lydia JoAnn Barrett, John W. Norman, John B. Norman, Brad Norman, James Belote, Preston Trimble and Elise Hayes

Defendant's Attorney: Gary Chubbuck, Stacey Chubbuck, Bart Robey, Bejnamin Odom, Paul Cereghini, William Auther, Tom Howard for American Honda

Description: Norman, OK - Vanessa Serranto sued American Honda Motor Company, Moddrell's Chickasha Honda Zuzuki, Gary Moddrell and Bonnie d/b/a Moddrell's Chickasha Honda Suzuki, Douglas Spores, Jackie Spores, Samanthan Heinen and Alois Loeffelholz on products liability and negligence theories claiming:

1. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 12 Okla. Stat. §2004 (F).

2. Plaintiff and her minor daughter are Oklahoma citizens. Defendant Moddrell's Chickasha Honda Suzuki, is an Oklahoma entity, and Gary and Bonnie Moddrell are Oklahoma citizens. Defendants, Douglas Spores, Jackie Spores and Samantha Heinen are Oklahoma citizens. There is therefore no diversity of citizenship pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1332(c), and removal of this action to federal court would also be improper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 144l (b). Moreover, this case does not involve a federal question, or any other basis for original federal jurisdiction, so removal of this action to federal court on those grounds would also be improper. See Watson v. Philip Morris Companies, Inc. 551 U.S. 142, 127 S.CT. 2301, No. 05-1284 (June 11, 2007).

3. This Court has venue of the matter in controversy pursuant to 12 Okla. Stat. §134, because Cleveland County is the county where the cause of action, or some part thereof, arose, and is a county where a codefendant of Defendant Moddrell's Chickasha Honda Suzuki may properly be sued; and pursuant to 12 Okla. Stat. §139, because Cleveland County is a county where a codefendant of Defendant American Honda Motor Co., Inc. may properly be sued and is the county where Plaintiff and her minor daughter reside; and pursuant to 12 Okla. Stat. §141 because some one or more of the defendants resided in the State of Oklahoma at the time of the injury and is a county where service of summons can be obtained upon one or more of the Defendants as now provided by law, and is a county where the damages or a part thereof were sustained; and pursuant to 12 Okla. Stat. 12 §187, because Cleveland County is a county where venue would be proper as to one or more of the resident Defendants.

4. Plaintiff Vanessa Serrano ("Plaintiff ') resides in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, and is the Mother and Next Friend of Eveona Serrano ("Eveona Serrano"), age 14, a minor.

5. Defendant American Honda Motor Co., Inc. ("Honda") is a foreign corporation with its principal place of business in California.

6. Defendant Moddrell's Chickasha Honda Suzuki ("Moddrell's") is an Oklahoma
entity.

7. Defendants Gary and Bonnie Moddrell ("Moddrells"), individuals, are citizens of Oklahoma.

8. Defendant Douglas Spores ("Douglas Spores"), an individual, 1s a citizen of Oklahoma.

9. Defendant Jackie Spores ("Jackie Spores"), an individual, 1s a citizen of
Oklahoma.

10. Defendant Samantha Heinen ("Heinen"), an individual, is a citizen of Oklahoma.

CAUSE OF ACTION

11. Honda designed, manufactured, marketed, and sold a 2005 Honda TRX All Terrain Vehicle ("ATV or Product") to Moddrell's, a new ATV dealer. Moddrell's inspected, tested, operated and serviced, until it sold, the ATV to Jackie Spores in 2005.

12. On October 16, 2011, Eveona Serrano was a passenger on the ATV, which was driven by Heinen, on ranch property terrain near 19741 Box Road, Lexington, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, when the ATV became uncontrollable by Heinen and rolled over.

13. As a result of the ATV rollover caused by defendants' combined negligence and by the defective and unreasonably dangerous ATV, Eveona Serrano suffered serious injuries, a broken back, spinal cord damage, lung damage and harm and has no sensory motor function in her bilateral lower extremities caused by Defendants' negligence and the dangerous and unreasonably dangerous ATV. Eveona has and will endure physical pain and suffering, mental pain and suffering, permanent physical impairment, and disfigurement; lose earnings and earning capacity, and has and will incur enormous expenses for necessary medical care and treatment.

14. Said injuries and harm were the direct and proximate result of the carelessness and negligence of Defendants Honda and Moddrell's, individually, by and through their agents, servants, and employees, acting within the scope of their employment, jointly, severally, concurrently, and in concert, as follows, in that said defendants failed to:

a) adequately study available design criteria and foreseeable failure modes;

b) adequately manufacture their ATV to provide safety in reasonably foreseeable uses and circumstances;

c) adequately inspect, examine, and test the ATV in reasonably foreseeable uses and circumstances;

d) adequately instruct and warn regarding proper assembly, maintenance, safe use, failures and dangers of the ATV in reasonably foreseeable uses and circumstances;

e) instruct, caution, and warn regarding the proper and safe use of the ATVs in reasonably foreseeable uses and circumstances;

f) adequately inspect, examine, test, and maintain the ATV;

g) adequately instruct and warn regarding proper operation and safe use of the ATV in reasonably foreseeable uses and circumstances;

h) meet applicable standards of care and breached duties owed with regard to the ATV.


15. Plaintiff has reason to believe other defendants will claim reasonable care was not used by Heinen, who is therefore joined pursuant to Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 2020.

16. Defendants Jackie Spores and Douglas Spores negligently permitted Heinen to operate, and/or failed to prohibit Heinen from operating, the ATV on all terrain of the Spores property when said Defendants knew and/or should have known that the ATV was a dangerous instrumentality under the circumstances and created an unreasonable risk of harm.

17. Said injuries and harm were the direct and proximate result of defects in the Honda ATV, for which defects Defendants Honda and Moddrell' s are strictly liable under the Oklahoma doctrine of Manufacturers Product Liability.
18. As a result of the injuries and harm Eveano Serrano suffered, she has and will be damaged in an amount in excess of $10,000.

PRAYER

A part of Oklahoma's tort reform legislation found at Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 2008(A)(2) provides, "Every pleading demanding relief for damages in money in excess of the amount required for diversity jurisdiction pursuant to Section 1332 of Title 28 of the United States Code shall, without demanding any specific amount of money, set forth only that the amount sought as damages is in excess of the amount required for diversity jurisdiction pursuant to Section 1332 of Title 28 of the United States Code, except in actions sounding in contract" However, this action is not removable for the reasons set forth in Paragraph 2 of this Petition, and to remove this case to federal court would violate Sections 1332 and 1441 of Title 28 of the United States Code.

Outcome: Settled for an undisclosed sum and dismissed with prejudice.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: