Litigation

Component Parts In Product Liability: The Saga Continues

By Bruce Nye

    CBL, and a lot of our clients in product liability matters, have been closely watching the law develop in California on this question:  if a manufacturer's product is not itself defective, but becomes defective when used in conjunction with a third-party's defective products (e.g., the defendant's valves made of steel, but are used with asbestos gaskets and packing made by somebody else), can the manufacturer be held liable for failure to warn of the dangers posed by the component it neither manufactured nor sold? 

    As we discussed here and here, there have been three appellate decisions on the subject this year.  The first, Taylor v. Elliott Turbomachinery Co., Inc. (2009) 171 Cal.App.4th 564, answered the question "no."  The second, O'Neil v. Crane Co. (September 21, 2009) ___Cal.App.4th___ (B208225), said just the opposite -- "yes."  And the tie breaker four days later was, Merrill v. Leslie Controls, Inc. (September 25, 2009) ___Cal.App.4th ___ (BC352170) which also said "no."

    Or at least it was until yesterday.  Plaintiffs moved for reconsideration of the Merrill decision (presumably on the basis of O'Neil, filed four days earlier).  Yesterday the Court of Appeal granted reconsideration.  The defendant has ten days in which to file its answer, after which the Court of Appeal will decide without further argument.  Meanwhile, Merrill is no longer citeable as authority.

    The Court of Appeal has already denied reconsideration in O'Neill, and the Supreme Court previously denied a hearing in Taylor.  CBL guesses the Supremes may be more interested now.

Full post as published by CalBizLit on October 23, 2009 (boomark / email).