No. 28328 (Aug. 19, 2009)
Opinion pdf
OPINION OF THE COURT BY FOLEY, J.
Defendant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee Takata Corporation (hereinafter, Defendant or Takata) appeals from the Second Amended Judgment filed on November 28, 2006, in the Circuit Court of the Third Circuit (circuit court). Following a jury trial, the circuit court entered judgment in favor of:
(1) Plaintiff-Appellee/Cross-Appellant Dason Udac (Dason) and against Takata on Dason's claims for negligence, product liability, and punitive damages;
(2) Plaintiff-Appellee/Cross-Appellant Gwendolyn N. Udac, Trustee of the Alfredo Udac Revocable Living Trust, (Gwendolyn) (Gwendolyn and Dason are collectively referred to as the Udacs) and against Takata on Alfredo Udac's claims for negligent infliction of emotional distress and loss of consortium/pecuniary losses;
(3) Takata and against the Udacs on the Udacs' claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, failure to warn, breach of warranty, and alleged manufacturing defects; and
(4) Defendant-Appellee Hawaii Motors, Inc. (Hawaii Motors) and against the Udacs on the Udacs' claims of failure to warn, breach of warranty, alleged manufacturing defects, negligence, product liability, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress, loss of consortium/pecuniary losses, and punitive damages.
On appeal, Takata contends the circuit court erroneously
(1) excluded expert testimony by Robert Douglas Banks, M.D. (Dr. Banks);
(2) admitted into evidence applications for seatbelt-buckle patents filed by Takata on September 7, 1984 (TK-52 patent) and April 29, 1987 (A-95 patent) (collectively referred to as the TK-52 and A-95 patents or the patents);
(3) admitted into evidence Nissan Design Specifications for the 1992 Nissan Pathfinder (1992 NDS);
(4) instructed the jury on negligent failure to warn and the latent-danger theory of product defect;
(5) denied the portion of "Defendant Takata Corporation's Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, at Close of Evidence" (Takata's JMOL Motion) in which Takata requested that the circuit court enter judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) in Takata's favor because the Udacs did not present sufficient evidence for their false-latch theory of defect;
(6) denied the portion of Takata's JMOL Motion in which Takata requested that the circuit court enter JMOL in Takata's favor because the jury's punitive damages award was based on insufficient evidence; and
(7) denied the portion of "Defendant Takata Corporation's Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law and/or for New Trial and/or for Remittitur" (Takata's Renewed JMOL Motion) in which Takata requested that the circuit court enter JMOL in Takata's favor because the jury's $12,500,000 punitive damages award was excessive under Hawai‘i law and the federal due process clause.
The Udacs cross-appeal from the (1) "Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Plaintiffs' Motion for Award of Costs and Prejudgment Interest and for Form of Judgment Filed on January 27, 2006," filed on April 19, 2006 (Order Granting/ Denying Motion for Prejudgment Interest) and (2) Second Amended Judgment. The Udacs contend the circuit court erroneously failed to award them prejudgment interest on (1) compensatory damages from the date of the accident and (2) the punitive damages award.
We vacate and remand. [footnotes omitted]
