Wangsness v. Builders Cashway, Inc.

Fifteen-year-old Tanner Wangsness (plaintiff) severed four fingers when he opened a bifold door and inadvertently reached into its exposed rotating shaft and cable. The door was purchased from Builders Cashway, Inc. (defendant), a retailer that also helped install the door. Schweiss Chicken Pluckers, the bifold door’s manufacturer, was bankrupt and not a party in the lawsuit. Wangsness regularly observed the door’s operation and had twice previously opened the door without injury. Wangsness understood the necessity of keeping away from the bifold door’s exposed moving parts. Wangsness’s experts testified that a reasonable person would recognize the inherent dangers of the bifold door’s open mechanical components. Wangsness sued in state court, alleging strict products liability. Wangsness alleged the door was defectively designed and lacked adequate warning about its dangers. Builders Cashway argued that Wangsness assumed the risks posed by the bifold door’s obviously exposed moving parts. Builders Cashway requested a special-verdict form regarding the assumption-of-the-risk defense. The court instead gave the jury a generic general-verdict form. The trial court instructed the jury on the assumption-of-risk defense and noted that the relevant standard of care applicable to Wangsness, a minor, was the level of care reasonably expected of a 15-year-old child. The trial court jury found in favor of Builders Cashway. Wangsness appealed to the state appellate court.