Facts
In 1988, the Georgia General Assembly enacted OCGA § 40-8-76.1 (Georgia’s “seatbelt statute”), which requires “[e]ach occupant of the front seat of a passenger vehicle” to “be restrained by a seat safety belt” “while such passenger vehicle is being operated on a public road, street, or highway of this state.” Further, OCGA § 40-8-76.1(d) restricts the use of evidence of a vehicle occupant’s failure to wear a seatbelt in a legal proceeding. Under the law, such evidence shall not:
- be considered evidence of negligence or causation
- otherwise be considered by the finder of fact on any question of liability of any person, corporation, or insurer
- be any basis for cancellation of coverage or increase in insurance rates
- be evidence used to diminish any recovery for damages arising out of the ownership, maintenance, occupancy, or operation of a motor vehicle.
The case of Domingue v. Ford Motor Company stems from a March 2020 traffic accident involving Casey Domingue and his wife Kristen. The couple was in their 2015 Ford SRW Super Duty Pickup when they were hit by a Jeep Wrangler. During the collision, the dashboard airbag on the passenger side of the Domingues’ truck did not deploy, and Kristen’s head hit the windshield. She suffered serious injuries to her head, neck, and spine. Both vehicles were also seriously damaged. The Domingues filed suit against the Ford Motor Company for negligence and the defective design and manufacture of the airbag restrain system. The Domingues filed a Motion in Limine asking the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia to exclude from the scope of discovery and from trial any evidence concerning whether Kristen Domingue was wearing her seatbelt. Ford argued that the seatbelt evidence falls outside of OCGA § 40-8-76.1(d)’s exclusionary limits and that the Domingues’ allegations and expert testimony opened the door to the admission of all seatbelt evidence.
Issues and Holdings
In October 2021, the District Court certified questions concerning the admissibility of seatbelt evidence under OCGA § 40-8-76.1(d) to the Georgia Supreme Court.
The District Court’s certified questions pertaining to OCGA § 40-8-76.1(d) were as follows:
Does OCGA § 40-8-76.1 (d) preclude a defendant in an action alleging defective restraint system design and/or negligent restraint system manufacture from producing evidence related to:
- The existence of seatbelts in a vehicle as part of the vehicle’s passenger restraint system; or
- Evidence related to the seatbelt’s design and compliance with applicable federal safety standards; or
- An occupant’s nonuse of a seatbelt as part of their defense?
The Supreme Court of Georgia concluded that OCGA § 40-8-76.1(d):
- Does not preclude a defendant in an action alleging defective restraint-system design or negligent restraint-system manufacture from producing evidence related to the existence of seatbelts in a vehicle as part of the vehicle’s passenger restraint system;
- Does not preclude such defendants from producing evidence related to the seatbelt’s design and compliance with applicable federal safety standards; and
- Does preclude consideration of the failure of an occupant of a motor vehicle to wear a seatbelt for the purposes set forth in subsection (d), even as part of a defendant manufacturer’s defense.
Reasoning
In its holding, the Supreme Court of Georgia wrote that “some of us have serious concerns about the constitutionality of a statute that strips from a defendant the ability to present evidence that could be critical to its ability to present a defense of a product it designs and manufactures...” but concluded that those questions of constitutionality were not properly presented to the Court for resolution in this case.
Conclusion
For the Court’s full legal analysis and case citations in Domingue et al. v. Ford Motor Company, 314 Ga. 59 you can read the full summary online.
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Citation: Domingue et al. v. Ford Motor Company, 314 Ga. 59 (M.D. Ga. Oct. 20, 2021)
