General Motors Corp. v. Superior Court

A driver wearing her seat belt is stopped in traffic. Her car is rear-ended. Although her seat belt remains fastened and does not break, her head strikes the steering wheel and she later mentions to a doctor that “the seat belt didn’t hold [her].” Within one year, she sues the driver of the other car and 20 Doe defendants. More than two years after the accident, she substitutes the manufacturer of her car for a Doe defendant and adds allegations that the seat belt was defective. The manufacturer cries foul, claiming the driver knew there was a problem with the seat belt and knew the identity of the manufacturer of her car, and thus was not “ignorant” of its identity within the meaning of section 474 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The driver disagrees, claiming the mere fact that the seat belt did not secure her tightly to the seat did not make her suspect that the belt’s “comfort feature” (which permits it to spool out when the driver leans forward) was defective in that it allowed “the inadvertent introduction of slack.” The trial court agreed with the driver and so do we.

Facts

On November 5, 1992, Susanna Jeffrey’s 1986 Chevrolet Blazer was rear-ended by a car…