Sterling Jackson v. Coast Paint and Lacquer Company, a Corporation, and Reliance Universal Incorporated, a Corporation

In this diversity case plaintiff seeks to recover from a manufacturer-seller of paint for personal injuries which he claims resulted from failure of the manufacturer to warn adequately of the product’s dangerous characteristics. The case was presented to a jury on a theory of strict liability. The jury returned a general verdict for the defendant. On this appeal plaintiff challenges the correctness of the district court’s instructions to the jury on two issues: the nature of the defendant’s duty to warn, and the defense of contributory negligence. Concluding that there was indeed error in these instructions, we reverse.

In 1964 plaintiff, a citizen of Utah, was a journeyman painter employed by a Utah painting contractor. His employer entered into a contract with a Montana manufacturing company to paint some railroad tank cars that were to be used for the shipment of bulk quantities of honey. Plaintiff was sent by his employer to Billings, Montana, to do the work.

The paint used to coat the inside of the tank cars, “Copon EA9,” was manufactured and sold by defendant Reliance Universal, Inc., a Texas manufacturer of industrial paints and coatings. It is an epoxy paint…