Balder v. Haley

YETKA, Justice.

This is an appeal from the court of appeals’ decision to reverse a Benton County District Court’s judgment based on a jury verdict that appellant Honeywell was not responsible through negligence for respondent Michael Balder’s injury in the explosion of a liquid propane water heater. Though sustaining the jury’s findings that Honeywell had not negligently designed a particular gas valve implicated in the accident, the court of appeals held sua sponte that evidence conclusively demonstrated that Honeywell had breached its duty to warn of dangers associated with the malfunction…