Green v. Allendale Planting Co. & the KBH Corp.

Larry Green (plaintiff) was operating a mule boy, a tractor-pulled-and-powered farm implement, owned by his employer, Allendale Planting Co. (Allendale) (defendant) and manufactured by the KBH Corp. (KBH) (defendant), when he sustained personal injuries. Allendale had purchased the mule boy about three or four weeks prior to the accident and had not modified it or had any problems with it. Green was an experienced farmhand and had been employed at Allendale for approximately 12 years. On the day of the accident, he heard a loud, unusual noise coming from the mule boy, so he left it running and knelt down in close proximity to its four metering chains. Green lost his balance, and his hand came into contact with the chains, resulting in three of his fingers being severed. Green brought an action against KBH, alleging failure to warn and defective design based on the lack of a safety guard that would have prevented his injuries. KBH moved for summary judgment on the issue of whether Green voluntarily and deliberately exposed himself to a dangerous condition. The trial court granted the motion and found that there was no genuine issue of material fact on the issue. It further held that Green’s own testimony showed that his actions were deliberate and voluntary and indicated acceptance of the dangerous conditions. The trial court found that KBH established a complete defense of assumption of risk to Green’s failure-to-warn and defective-design claims.