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Conflict of Laws Keyed to Brilmayer
Phillips v. General Motors Corp.
Citation:
995 P.2d 1002 (Mont. 2000)Facts
On December 22, 1997, Darrell Byrd was driving with his wife and their two children in a 1985 Chevrolet pickup truck when it caught on fire after being hit by a semi-tractor trailer. The accident occurred in Kansas, but the Byrd’s were traveling from their home in Montana, where Darrell was employed and where the children attended school, to North Carolina to visit family. The Byrds were domiciled in Montana before and at the time of the 1997 accident. Darrell, his wife, and one of the children died following the accident. The surviving child, Samuel, was hospitalized with injuries.
Darrell Byrd purchased the 1985 pickup truck in February 1995 from Mike’s Wholesale Cars in Newton, North Carolina. Darrell listed a North Carolina address in the paperwork. The truck was designed, tested, manufactured, and distributed by General Motors (“GM”) and originally sold by GM in North Carolina. The truck had fuel tanks mounted outside the frame rail.
Plaintiff, Alvin Phillips, is the legal guardian of Samuel Byrd and the general representatives of the estates of Darrell, his wife, and their deceased child. Probate proceedings for the estates of Darrell, his wife, and their deceased child were filed with and are pending in the Montana Nineteenth Judicial District Court in Lincoln County, Montana. Phillips brought suit against Defendant, GM, in federal district court in Montana, alleging claims of negligence and strict liability and seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The district court certified three questions to the Montana state court.
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