Ted Harrison, Jr., a minor, by Audrey Harrison, his guardian ad litem, v. Amy Harrison

This case presents the question of whether Minnesota's "seat belt gag rule," Minn. Stat. § 169.685, subd. 4(a) (2006), permits an action to be brought against a child's parents for negligent installation and maintenance of a child passenger restraint system. The district court allowed the child's action to proceed, concluding that the child's action fell within an exception to the seat belt gag rule that permits evidence of seat belt or car seat use in "an action for damages arising out of an incident that involves a defectively designed, manufactured, installed, or operating seat belt or child passenger restraint system." Minn. Stat. § 169.685, subd. 4(b) (2006). The court of appeals affirmed. Harrison ex rel. Harrison v. Harrison, 713 N.W.2d 74, 75 (Minn. App. 2006). We conclude that the child's action fell within the plain language of the exception to the seat belt gag rule and affirm the court of appeals.

Ted Harrison, Jr. (Ted), respondent, was three years old, and a passenger in a motor vehicle driven by his mother that was struck by another vehicle. As a result of the collision, Ted was thrown from his child passenger restraint system and injured. A products liability action, alleging defective design, was brought on Ted's behalf against the manufacturer of the restraint system. Ted settled with the manufacturer at the start of trial.

In a separate negligence action, Ted, by his guardian ad litem, sought recovery from his parents, Amy and Ted Harrison (the Harrisons), alleging negligent installation and maintenance of his child passenger restraint system. The parties brought cross-motions for summary judgment and stipulated, for purposes of the motions, that the Harrisons were negligent in the maintenance of Ted's car seat for failing to discover and remove a coin from the car seat's buckle mechanism. The parties also stipulated that the Harrisons were negligent in failing both to convert the vehicle's seat belt restraint harness to the automatic locking mode and to check that the car seat's buckle was securely latched into the buckle mechanism. The district court granted summary judgment to Ted and denied summary judgment to the Harrisons, concluding that the exception to the gag rule for "defective installation" is not limited to products liability claims against designers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of child passenger restraint systems.

The court of appeals affirmed. Harrison, 713 N.W.2d at 75. The court rejected the Harrisons' argument that the exception to the seat belt gag rule was limited to products liability cases. Id. at 78. Instead, the court of appeals concluded that under the plain meaning of the statute, the exception applies to Ted's action:

The phrase, "an action for damages arising out of an incident that involves a defectively installed child passenger restraint system" does not describe only a product-liability action. It describes an action brought under any theory of liability that seeks recovery of damages that arose out of a certain type of incident. Whether the exception applies to a particular action depends on the nature of the incident from which damages arose, rather than on the theory of liability. If the incident involves a defectively installed child passenger restraint system, the exception applies.

Id. Because the court of appeals held that the language of the statute was unambiguous, it declined to consider the statute's legislative history. Id. at 79.

The Harrisons make two arguments in this appeal. First, the exception the legislature crafted in section 169.685, subd. 4(b), allows evidence of use or installation of a car seat only in products liability cases. Second, the exception requires that all claims of defective child passenger restraint systems be brought in one action, and because Ted did not bring a single action for damages, his separate negligence action against the Harrisons falls outside the statutory exception. We address these arguments in turn.

Statutory interpretation begins with an inquiry into whether the law is ambiguous; that is, whether it is subject to more than one plausible interpretation. See Janssen v. Best & Flanagan, 662 N.W.2d 876, 884 (Minn. 2003). When the language of a statute is unambiguous, our role is to give effect to the legislature's will as expressed in that language. See id. Only if we determine that the plain meaning of a statute is ambiguous will we consider the circumstances under which the law was enacted, the consequences of a particular interpretation, and the law's legislative history. Minn. Stat. § 645.16 (2006). In addition, "[e]very law shall be construed, if possible, to give effect to all its provisions." Id. Application of a statute to undisputed facts is a legal conclusion that we review under a de novo standard. Lefto v. Hoggsbreath Enters., Inc., 581 N.W.2d 855, 856 (Minn. 1998).

Minnesota Statutes § 169.685, subd. 4, reads in relevant part:

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), proof of the use or failure to use seat belts or a child passenger restraint system as described in subdivision 5, or proof of the installation or failure of installation of seat belts or a child passenger restraint system as described in subdivision 5 shall not be admissible in evidence in any litigation involving personal injuries or property damage resulting from the use or operation of any motor vehicle.

(b) Paragraph (a) does not affect the right of a person to bring an action for damages arising out of an incident that involves a defectively designed, manufactured, installed, or operating seat belt or child passenger restraint system. Paragraph (a) does not prohibit the introduction of evidence pertaining to the use of a seat belt or child passenger restraint system in an action described in this paragraph.

In this personal injury action, Ted seeks damages that resulted from the operation of a motor vehicle and the use or installation of a child passenger restraint system. The evidence Ted seeks to admit - negligent use or installation of a car seat - falls squarely within the plain meaning of subdivision 4(a). Thus, unless the exception described in subdivision 4(b) applies, the evidence is not admissible and the action may not be brought.

I.

We turn first to the Harrisons' argument that subdivision 4(b) applies only to products liability actions. The Harrisons argue that use of the word "defectively" in subdivision 4(b) should be understood to have a technical, rather than common, meaning because the term "defective" is closely connected to products liability actions. See Bilotta v. Kelley Co., 346 N.W.2d 616, 623 n.3 (Minn. 1984) (requiring proof of a product's defective condition in a products liability case utilizing the theory of strict liability). The Harrisons assert that, as a result, use of the word "defectively" indicates that the legislature intended Minn. Stat. § 169.685, subd. 4(b), to apply only to products liability cases and not to cases that are based in negligence and brought against noncommercial defendants.[1]

In ascertaining the meaning of a statute, words and phrases should be construed according to the rules of grammar and according to their common meanings, but technical words and phrases should be construed according to their special meanings or definitions. Minn. Stat. § 645.08(1) (2006). The word "defective" is closely connected to products liability actions;[2] as such, a products liability action requires a plaintiff to prove the defendant's product was in a defective condition. Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability § 1 (1998); cf. Bilotta, 346 N.W.2d at 623 n.3. Therefore, the word "defectively" in Minn. Stat. § 169.685, subd. 4(b), may indicate that the exception only applies to products liability claims. That the exception specifically applies to two products - seat belts and child passenger restraint systems - supports this interpretation.

However, subdivision 4(b) does not explicitly limit its application to products liability actions. Subdivision 4(b) simply says "an action." An "action" means "any proceeding in any court of this state." Minn. Stat. § 645.45(2) (2006) (emphasis added). In addition, the word "defective" has meanings outside of the products liability context. For example, "defect" connotes different things in the context of a nonconforming tender of performance under a contract, see Johannsen v. Minn. Valley Ford Tractor Co., 304 N.W.2d 654, 657 (Minn. 1981) (discussing opportunity to cure the "defect"), and in the context of criminal liability of the mentally ill, see Minn. Stat. § 611.026 (2006) (discussing "defect of reason"). Moreover, in general * * *