Mary Ann Butkowski as Administratrix of the Estate of Ronald F. Butkowski, Deceased v. General Motors Corporation

FEINBERG, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff’s husband, Ronald F. Butkowski, was fatally injured in a single ear accident in Norfolk, Virginia in 1967. Thereafter, in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, plaintiff Mary Ann Butkowski sued the manufacturer of the car, defendant General Motors Corporation, for the wrongful death of her husband. The theory of the action was that the absence of an external grease fitting on the car’s idler arm had caused the part to “seize up,” resulting in a sudden and fatal loss of steering control. After the close of plaintiff’s evidence…