White v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc.

I respectfully disagree with the majority’s determination that the plaintiff, Roland Todd White, did not raise the “malfunction theory” before the trial court and, therefore, would reach the merits of this claim. On appeal, the plaintiff argues that there is sufficient circumstantial evidence to establish aprima facie case against the defendants, Mazda Motor of America, Inc., and Cartwright Auto, LLC, under the malfunction theory, a product liability doctrine that applies where direct evidence of a specific defect is unavailable and permits a jury to infer that the vehicle was defective…