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C.A. Affirms Victory for Michelin in Failure-to-Warn Case
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Court of Appeal for this district affirmed a judgment in favor of Michelin, sued over a failure to warn of the dangers of 10-year-old tires still being in use, with the plaintiffs blaming the manufacturer for a catastrophic automobile accident allegedly caused by defective tires.
Presiding Justice Lee Edmon of Div. Three authored the unpublished opinion which affirms a judgment by then-Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark V. Mooney. The judgment for Michelin ensued after Mooney granted summary adjudication in its favor and the plaintiffs dismissed their surviving claims.
Edmon wrote:
“[P]laintiffs did not demonstrate a triable issue as to Michelin’s duty to warn because they did not show there was a scientific consensus in 2008, the year the tire was manufactured, that tires should be removed from use at any particular age.”
She went on to say:
“[P]laintiffs do not explain—and we cannot envisage—how Michelin could have put a warning/expiration date on the tires without determining a specific date by which tires are no longer safe to use.”
The case is Lopez v. Michelin North America, Inc.
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