Danny Kennedy v. State

The defendants Sears, Roebuck and Company and State Industries, Inc., appeal from a $12,000,000 judgment entered on verdicts in favor of the five plaintiffs in a products liability action. The plaintiffs are Ruth McCord; Louisiana Waddell; and Annie Harris, who sued as administratrix of the estate of her deceased minor daughter Joyce Simpson and as next friend and mother of her minor children Felicia D. Simpson and Janice D. Simpson. On December 17, 1989, Joyce Simpson died and Louisiana Waddell, Felicia Simpson, and Janice Simpson suffered personal injuries from carbon monoxide poisoning while they slept in Ruth McCords mobile home. The plaintiffs brought a wrongful death and personal injury action based on the Alabama Extended Manufacturers Liability Doctrine ("AEMLD") and on negligent- and/or wanton-failure-to-warn theories, alleging that a defective Kenmore II gas water heater manufactured by State Industries and sold by Sears, Roebuck and Company caused the carbon monoxide poisoning.