Products Liability Law Reporter

A Utah appellate court affirmed a trial court’s award of $400,000 in post-judgment interest in a products liability suit involving carbon monoxide poisoning.

Lois Smith sued dealership Volkswagen SouthTowne, Inc., alleging claims for negligence and products liability. The plaintiff asserted that she suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from a cracked fuel line in the car she purchased from the defendant. After a trial, a jury awarded $2.7 million, plus costs and post-judgment interest. The trial court granted the defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law. Three years later, the Utah Supreme Court reversed and ordered that the verdict be reinstated. On remand, the trial court entered a new judgment, including accrued interest dating back to August 2018, when the trial court had entered judgment on the verdict. The defendant appealed.

Affirming, the court found that the 2018 judgment was a final judgment to which post-judgment interest applied by statute. Citing case law, the court found that the plaintiff should not lose her interest because the defendant was able to convince the trial court to make an erroneous ruling. The court also found that the trial court had not violated the mandate rule, under which issues resolved by an appellate court bind the trial court on remand. The rule was not violated, the court said, noting that the state high court had reinstated the verdict or judgment on the verdict, revitalizing the judgment.

Citation: Smith v. Volkswagen Southtowne, Inc., 2024 WL 1100747 (Utah Ct. App. Mar. 14, 2024).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Michael A. Worel and Colin P. King, both of Salt Lake City.