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Superior Court Reverses Trial Court Decision Which Allowed Non-Use of Seatbelt To Be AdmittedAttached is the link to the Superior Court decision from June 1, 2009 in Gaudio v Ford Motor Company,—A.2d—(Pa. Super. Ct. 2009). The Superior Court the grants a new trial from a defense verdict based on several erroneous trial court evidentiary rulings. The primary issue stemmed from the trial court’s denial of Plaintiff’s Motion in Limine to preclude evidence that the Plaintiff was not wearing his seat belt. The trial court had admitted evidence of seatbelt non-use on the issue of causation. On appeal, the Superior Court reversed the trial judge’s ruling and held that the clear and unambiguous language of 75 Pa.C.S.A §4581 precluded the admission of non-use of seatbelts into evidence for any purpose.
Superior Court also reversed the trial court’s ruling that allowed Ford’s experts to testify that the F-150 complied with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. In reversing, Superior Court reaffirmed that evidence of compliance with FMVSS standards is inadmissible in products liability actions.
http://www.pacourts.us/OpPosting/Superior/out/a12046_08.pdfScott B. Cooper
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