IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

BESSEMER DIVISION

CIVIL ACTION CASE NUMBER: _____________________________

JON HURST and BARBARA HURST, as parents and next friends of
NATALIE JEAN HURST, Deceased,

Plaintiffs,

Vs.

MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION, MAZDA MOTOR OF AMERICA, INC., SYDNEY
KAY MCLEMORE, and FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT No. 1, whether singular or plural,
that entity or those entities who or which designed the subject vehicle and fuel system
involved in the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit, or any component part thereof,
FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT No. 2, whether singular or plural, that entity or those entities
who or which manufactured or assembled the vehicle and fuel system involved in the
occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit, or any component part thereof; FICTITIOUS
DEFENDANT No. 3, whether singular or plural, that entity or those entities who or which
had any role in the distributive chain regarding the vehicle and fuel system involved in the
occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit or any component part thereof; FICTITIOUS
DEFENDANT No. 4, whether singular or plural, that entity or those entities who or which,
prior to the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit, altered or repaired the vehicle or
fuel system involved in said occurrence or any component part thereof; FICTITOUS
DEFENDANT No. 5, whether singular or plural, that entity or those entities who or which
failed to warn or issued inadequate warnings or instructions regarding the use or operation
of the vehicle fuel system involved in the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit or any
component part thereof; FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT No. 6, whether singular or plural,
that entity or those entities which provided product liability and/or general liability
insurance coverage for the manufacturer and/or distributor of the vehicle involved in the
occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit at the time of said occurrence or at any time prior
thereto; FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT No. 7, whether singular or plural, that entity or those
entities, who or which tested, inspected, approved or issued any approval of the vehicle or
fuel system involved in the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit, or any component
part thereof; FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT No. 8, whether singular or plural, that entity or
those entities who or which conducted safety inspections or analyses of or with reference to
the vehicle or fuel system involved in the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit, or any
component part thereof, and/or the design or manufacturing process of each such product,
including but not limited to the products liability insurance carrier for the manufacturer or
distributor of any of the aforesaid products, FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT No. 9, whether
singular or plural, that entity or those entities who or which was responsible for the
defective condition of or fuel system involved in the occurrence made the basis of this
lawsuit on the date of said occurrence or any component part thereof; FICTITIOUS
DEFENDANT No. 10, whether singular or plural, that entity, individual, or those entities
who allowed or placed the vehicle or fuel system involved in the occurrence made the basis
ELECTRONICALLY FILED
8/2/2012 5:29 PM
CV-2012-900498.00
CIRCUIT COURT OF
JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA
BENNY R. WATSON, CLERK
2

of this lawsuit into the stream of commerce in a defective and hence unreasonably
dangerous condition, FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT No. 11, whether singular or plural, that
entity or those entities who or which designed, manufactured, assembled and/or installed
the fuel system on the vehicle involved in the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit;
FICTITOUS DEFENDANT No. 12, whether singular or plural, that entity or those entities
who or which had any role in the distributive chain regarding the fuel system of the vehicle
involved in the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit; FICTITOUS DEFNDANT No.
13, whether singular or plural, that entity or those entities who or which failed to warn or
issued inadequate warning or instructions involving the fuel system of the vehicle involved
in the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit; FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT No. 14,
whether singular or plural, Plaintiffs hereby intending to designate that entity or those
entities other than those entities described above which was the predecessor corporation of
any of the entities described above; FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT No. 15, whether singular
or plural, that entity or those entities other than those entities described above, which is the
successor in interest of any of those entities described above; FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT
No. 16, that person or entity who sold, marketed or placed into the stream of commerce the
Mazda 3 forming the basis of this suit; FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT No. 17, that
automobile dealership that originally sold the defective Mazda 3 to the public,
FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT No. 18, whether singular or plural, that person, corporation,
or other legal entity whose negligence, wantonness, or other wrongful conduct combined
and concurred with the conduct of Defendant herein to cause the death of Natalie Jean
Hurst, FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT 19, whether singular or plural, that person,
corporation or other legal entity who or which provided any insurance coverage of
whatever kind or character to any of the named or fictitious defendants herein;
FICTITIOUS DEFENDANT 20, whether singular or plural, that person, corporation, or
other legal entity who or which was responsible for the death of Natalie Jean Hurst on the
occasion of the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit; FICTITOUS DEFENDANT 21,
that entity, individual or corporation that marketed or distributed the Mazda 3; Plaintiffs
aver that the identities of the fictitious parties defendant are otherwise unknown to
Plaintiffs at this time, or if their names are known to Plaintiffs at this time their identities
as proper parties defendant is not known to Plaintiffs at this time, but their true names will
be substituted by amendment when ascertained,


Defendants.

COMPLAINT

COME NOW the Plaintiffs, J on Hurst and Barbara Hurst, as parents and next friends of
Natalie Hurst, deceased, and bring the following complaint against the Defendants, Mazda Motor
Corporation, Mazda Motor of North America, Sydney Kay McLemore and Fictitious Defendants
Number 1 21.
3


STATEMENT OF PARTIES, JURISDICTION & VENUE

1. J on and Barbara Hurst are adults over the age of nineteen (19) and are Alabama
residents residing in Hoover, Alabama.
2. The accident made basis of this lawsuit occurred in Alabama on Ross Bridge
Parkway, located in the Bessemer Division of J efferson County, Alabama.
3. The Decedent was a minor who resided in the Bessemer Division of J efferson
County, Alabama before and on the date of her death on November 22, 2010; the Decedents
death is the subject of this lawsuit.
4. The Plaintiffs are the parents of the Decedent and are entitled to bring this action
to recover damages for their daughters wrongful death.
5. Defendant Mazda Motor of America, Inc. (Mazda America) is a corporation
with its principal place of business in California and at all material times was doing business by
agent in the State of Alabama.
6. Defendant Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) is a foreign corporation
organized and existing under the laws of J apan and doing business in the State of Alabama.
7. Defendant Sydney Kay McLemore is a resident of the Bessemer Division of
J efferson County, Alabama.
8. Fictitious Defendants 1 21, whether singular or plural, are those persons,
corporations or entities whose negligence, wantonness or other wrongful conduct caused or
contributed to cause the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit and who are otherwise
unknown to the Plaintiffs at this time, but whose true and correct names with be substituted by
amendment when ascertained.
4

9. The term defendants is made to refer to all real and fictitious defendants
described in the style of this Complaint.
10. Pursuant to Section 6-5-566, Ala. Code (1975), venue is proper in the Bessemer
Division of J efferson County, Alabama.
Statement of the Facts
11. On or about November 21-22, 2010, the plaintiffs decedent, Natalie J ean Hurst, was
an overnight guest at the residence of Sydney Kay McLemore.
12. On or about November 22, at approximately 1:00 to 1:30 a.m., defendant Sydney
Kay McLemore operated a 2008 Mazda 3 sedan in which Natalie was a passenger.
13. The 2008 Mazda 3 sedan in which Natalie rode on that evening was designed,
manufactured, assembled, tested, marketed, distributed, and sold by defendants Mazda, Mazda
America, and Fictitious Defendants 1-21.
14. The 2008 Mazda 3 sedan was designed with the fuel tank located mid-ship.
Adjacent to the tank, was a hard metal muffler with a sharp edge. The tank was unguarded.
15. At approximately 3:00 a.m., while driving on Ross Bridge Parkway heading
south in the 4900 block, defendant Sydney Kay McLemore lost control of the vehicle, which
began to slide sideways across the southbound travel lanes. It then left the paved surface of the
road, striking a utility pole on the drivers side door before spinning around the pole.
16. The subject vehicle impacted the utility pole in the area of the drivers side door.
Upon impact, the fuel tank ruptured, leaking gasoline and resulting in a post-collision fuel-fed
fire.
17. Defendant Sydney Kay McLemore was able to extricate herself from the damaged
and burning vehicle.
5

18. Plaintiffs decedent, Natalie J ean Hurst, was seated in the right front passenger seat
away from the direct impact with the utility pole. After the accident, she was found still belted in
her seat and was pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner could find no evidence of any
traumatic injuries and determined the cause of her death to be from thermal burn injuries.
COUNT ONE
Alabama Extended Manufacturers Liability Doctrine (AEMLD)
19. Plaintiffs incorporate each and every allegation and averment of paragraphs 1-18
above as if they were fully set forth herein.
20. Defendants Mazda, Mazda America and/or Fictitious Defendants 1 -21 designed,
developed, engineered, tested, manufactured, distributed, marketed and sold the 2008 Mazda 3
sedan which is the subject of this lawsuit and reasonably expected it to reach the ultimate
consumer in the condition it was in at the time of the subject accident.
21. The 2008 Mazda 3 should have been designed, developed and engineered to
protect against the risk of a post-collision fuel-fed fire in an otherwise survivable accident.
22. Defendants Mazda, Mazda America and/or Fictitious Defendants 1-21 designed,
developed, and engineered the fuel system and exhaust system components in an unreasonably
unsafe manner. They placed the fuel tank mid-ship, adjacent to a hard metal muffler with a
sharp edge and no proper shield. This design made it reasonably foreseeable that the fuel system
would be compromised in an otherwise survivable accident, creating a likelihood of a post-
collision fuel-fed fire.
23. The manner in which the subject accident occurred was reasonably foreseeable to
and known by defendants Mazda, Mazda America and Fictitious Defendants 1 21.
24. The location of the fuel system and the gas tank as well as the exhaust system and
6

muffler in the 2008 Mazda 3 was was so unreasonably and dangerously defective as to expose
passengers to an unreasonable risk of harm. The defendants knew or should have known that the
design would lead to the likelihood of a post-collision fuel-fed fire in an accident such as this.
25. The 2008 Mazda 3 was not designed or manufactured in a reasonably crashworthy
manner by the Mazda defendants, in that the fuel system was compromised in a reasonably
foreseeable, otherwise survivable crash.
26. At the time of the accident, the 2008 Mazda 3 involved in this accident was in
substantially the same mechanical and design condition as it was on the date of its manufacture.
27. The vehicle was unreasonably dangerous and defective in its design and/or
manufacture in that the vehicle and its fuel tank, exhaust system and adjacent component parts
were designed, developed, engineered, tested, manufactured, distributed, marketed, and/or sold
in a dangerous and defective condition.
28. As a direct and proximate consequence of the unreasonably dangerous design
and/or manufacture of the subject 2008 Mazda 3 sedan, Natalie J ean Hurst was killed when she
was burned in the fire resulting from the impact. Had the defendants Mazda, Mazda America
and Fictitious Defendants 1-21 designed the vehicle (and its fuel system and exhaust system) to
be reasonably crashworthy, Ms. Hurst would have survived this accident. Defendant Sydney Kay
McLemore - who was seated at the point of impact of the vehicle with the utility pole was able
to leave the vehicle without assistance. Ms. Hurst, who was seated in the far side, away from the
impact, was killed from burn injuries with no evidence of other injury.
WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, the Plaintiffs demand judgment in their
favor against said Defendants, jointly and severally, pursuant to the Alabama Wrongful Death
Statute, Code of Alabama 6-5-410, a punitive damages award in an amount to punish said
7

Defendants/wrongdoers and to deter future similar wrongs, post-judgment interest, costs, and all
other relief which is proper.
COUNT TWO
NEGLIGENCE AND WANTONNESS
29. Plaintiff incorporates each and every allegation and averment of paragraphs 1-28
above as if they were fully set forth herein.
30. Defendants Mazda, Mazda America, and Fictitious Defendants 1 21 were
negligent and wanton in the design, manufacture, testing, warnings, distribution and/or sale of
the subject vehicle, including the design and manufacture of its fuel system and exhaust system.
31. The 2008 Mazda 3 should have been designed, developed and engineered to
protect against the risk of a post-collision fuel-fed fire in an otherwise survivable accident. The
vehicle was not crashworthy.
32. Defendants Mazda, Mazda America and/or Fictitious Defendants 1-21 designed,
developed, and engineered the fuel system and exhaust system components in an unreasonably
unsafe manner. They placed the fuel tank mid-ship, adjacent to a hard metal muffler with a
sharp edge and no proper shield. This design made it reasonably foreseeable that the fuel system
would be compromised in an otherwise survivable accident, creating a likelihood of a post-
collision fuel-fed fire.
33. The manner in which the subject accident occurred was reasonably foreseeable to
and known by defendants Mazda, Mazda America and Fictitious Defendants 1 21.
34. The location of the fuel system and the gas tank as well as the exhaust system and
muffler in the 2008 Mazda 3 was so unreasonably and dangerously defective as to expose
passengers to an unreasonable risk of harm. The defendants knew or should have known that the
8

design would lead to the likelihood of a post-collision fuel-fed fire in an accident such as this.
35. The 2008 Mazda 3 was not designed or manufactured in a reasonably crashworthy
manner by the Mazda defendants, in that the fuel system was compromised in a reasonably
foreseeable, otherwise survivable crash.
36. At the time of the accident, the 2008 Mazda 3 involved in this accident was in
substantially the same mechanical and design condition as it was on the date of its manufacture.
37. The vehicle was unreasonably dangerous and defective in its design and/or
manufacture in that the vehicle and its fuel tank, exhaust system and adjacent component parts
were designed, developed, engineered, tested, manufactured, distributed, marketed, and/or sold
in a dangerous and defective condition.
38. As a direct and proximate consequence of the unreasonably dangerous design
and/or manufacture of the subject 2008 Mazda 3 sedan, Natalie J ean Hurst was killed when she
was burned in the fire resulting from the impact. Had the defendants Mazda, Mazda America
and Fictitious Defendants 1-21 designed the vehicle (and its fuel system and exhaust system)
correctly, Ms. Hurst would have survived this accident. Defendant Sydney Kay McLemore - who
was seated at the point of impact of the vehicle with the utility pole was able to leave the
vehicle without assistance. Ms. Hurst, who was seated in the far side, away from the impact, was
killed from burn injuries with no evidence of other injury.
39. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence and wantonness of all of the
vehicle defendants, Natalie J ean Hurst is now deceased.
WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, the Plaintiffs demand judgment in their
favor against said Defendants, jointly and severally, pursuant to the Alabama Wrongful Death
Statute, Code of Alabama 6-5-410, a punitive damages award in an amount to punish said
9

Defendants/wrongdoers and to deter future similar wrongs, post-judgment interest, costs, and all
other relief which is proper.
COUNT THREE
NEGLIGENCE OF DEFENDANT SYDNEY KAY MCLEMORE
40. Plaintiffs incorporate each and every allegation and averment of paragraphs 1-39
above as if they were fully set forth herein.
41. Sydney Kay McLemore drove in a negligent manner, causing the vehicle to leave
the paved portion of the roadway, and strike a utility pole, which resulted in an immediate fire,
leading to the death of Natalie J ean Hurst.
WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, the Plaintiffs demand judgment in their
favor against said Defendants, jointly and severally, pursuant to the Alabama Wrongful Death
Statute, Code of Alabama 6-5-410, a punitive damages award in an amount to punish said
Defendants/wrongdoers and to deter future similar wrongs, post-judgment interest, costs, and all
other relief which is proper.
/s/ D. Bruce Petway (PET018)
Attorney for the Plaintiffs

OF COUNSEL:
PETWAY, TUCKER & BARGANIER
510 Park Place Tower
2001 Park Place North
Birmingham, AL 35203
205/733-1595
bpetway@lawpc.com

A.W. BOLT
PO Box 360777
Birmingham AL 35236
205-733-0664
awb@boltlaw.com


10



JURY DEMAND

PLAINTIFFS DEMAND A STRUCK J URY FOR THE TRIAL OF THIS CAUSE.


/s/ D. Bruce Petway

SERVE DEFENDANT MAZDA MOTOR OF AMERICA, INC.
BY CERTIFIED MAIL:

Mazda Motor of America, Inc.
c/o CT Corporation System, Registered Agent
2 North J ackson Street
Suite 605
Montgomery, AL 36104

THE PLAINTIFFS HAVE BEGUN THE PROCESS OF
SERVING THIS DEFENDANT
THROUGH THE HAGUE TREATY:

Mazda Motor Corporation
3-1 Shinchi
Fuchu-cho
Aki-gun
Hiroshima, J apan

SERVE DEFENDANT, SYDNEY KAY MCLEMORE:
1700 Russet Hill Circle
Hoover, AL 35244