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Demos v. Ferris-Shell Oil Company

Case Date: 10/12/2000
Court: 1st District Appellate
Docket No: 1-99-1027 Rel

FOURTH DIVISION

October 12, 2000

No. 1-99-1027
WILLAIM DEMOS, JR.,

               Plaintiff-Appellant,

     v.

FERRIS-SHELL OIL COMPANY, and ROBERT
FERRIS, Individually and d/b/a/ Ferris Shell
Service, a Sole Proprietorship; THE BUDD
COMPANY, a Corporatioin; SHELL OIL COMPANY,
a Corporation; and GENERAL TIRE, INC., a
Corporation

               Defendants-Appellees.

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Circuit Court of
Cook County

 

 


The Honorable
James S. Quinlan,
Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE SOUTH delivered the opinion of the court:

This appeal arises from a jury verdict finding defendant Shell Oil Company not liable forplaintiff's injuries. The evidence adduced was as follows.

On May 17, 1992, plaintiff, William Demos, went to Ferris-Shell (Ferris) station on thecorner of Montrose and Western in Chicago to put air in a tire he planned to use as a spare. Thetire was purchased from Al Malita, a friend. While at the station, Demos attempted to inflate thetire with the air hose provided at the Ferris station when the tire exploded, causing him severeinjuries.

At trial, Demos testified that a week before the accident, he brought his van to the stationfor service. While he was there, one of Ferris' employees mounted some tires and rims together for him. Demos said that the employee was having some difficulty mounting the tires and rimsbecause they did not match and had to use "a big hammer" to make the rim fit on the tire.

During that visit, Charles Fox, a service manager at the station, testified that he had aconversation with Demos about mounting some tires that Demos brought into the station. Foxinformed Demos that the wheels he brought in would not fit on his van because they were thewrong size tires. Fox also told Demos that because the tires were 16 inches in size and the rimswere 16