Purdy v. Deere & Co./Norton

Not all instructional errors mandate reversal.  An erroneous jury instruction is a reversible error only if, considering the record as a whole, it substantially affects a right of the parties by enabling the jury to reach an erroneous result. Wallach v.  Allstate, 344 Or 314, 180 P3d 19 (2008).

Kurt Norton and Deere & Company appealed a judgment in a negligence and personal injury action regarding Isabelle Norton, a minor, after she was injured when Kurt Norton accidentally backed over her with a riding mower manufactured by Deere & Company. Norton and Deer assigned error to the trial court’s jury instruction pertaining to products liability and fault apportionment. Isabelle Norton argued that the jury instruction was correct. Not all instructional errors mandate reversal.  An erroneous jury instruction is a reversible error only if, considering the record as a whole, it substantially affects a right of the parties by enabling the jury to reach an erroneous result. Wallach v.  Allstate, 344 Or 314, 180 P3d 19 (2008). The Court held that the jury instruction incorrectly directed the jury on a key component of Isabelle Norton’s claim. Specifically, the instruction mislead the jury on how to determine whether the riding mower was unreasonably dangerous. Because there was some likelihood that the jury reached a legally erroneous result, the error required reversal. Reversed and remanded.