General Motors Corporation v. R. M. Hopkins

Robert M. Hopkins, Jr., was badly hurt when his 1970 Chevrolet pick-up truck failed to keep to the road on a sharp turn and capsized. He contends in this products liability suit that the accident occurred because the driver lost control of the speed of the truck when the secondary butterfly valves of a defective carburetor were locked in an open position. The jury found that the carburetor was defectively designed and that this defect was a producing cause of the accident. Among its defenses General Motors Corporation contended that any malfunction of the carburetor was due to changes in the mechanism effected by Hopkins in the course of its removal and reinstallation upon the motor of the truck. The jury found that there had been "misuse" of the carburetor by Hopkins and that this was a producing cause of the accident. The trial court disregarded the findings relative to misuse and rendered judgment for Hopkins. The Court of Civil Appeals affirmed, deciding that there was evidence to support all of the jurys findings, but holding that misuse which is only a concurring cause of plaintiffs damages is no defense for the manufacturer of a defective product. 535 S.W.2d 880. We affirm the judgment for Hopkins.