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Allenberg v. Bentley Hedges Travel Serv., Inc., 22 P.3d 223 |
Supreme Court of Oklahoma |
2001 |
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Chapter |
16 |
Title |
Product Liability |
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Page |
682 |
Topic |
The Definition of One Who Sells |
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Quick Notes |
This about a used bus that was in an accident that contained no seat belts or handles. (Majority) Seller of used products is not strictly liable for a manufacturers product defects. (Minority) Sellers of used products are strictly liable. |
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Book Name |
Torts Cases, Problems, And Exercises. Weaver, Third Edition. ISBN: 978-1-4224-7220-0. |
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Issue |
o Whether manufacturers' products liability is applicable to the commercial seller of a used product if the alleged defect was not created by the seller, and if the product is sold in essentially the same condition as when it was acquired for resale? No. |
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Procedure |
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Trial |
o Judgment for Arkansas Bus. |
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Supreme |
o Affirmed |
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Facts |
Reason |
Rules |
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o Pl - Allenberg o Df - Bentley Hedges Travel What happened? o Ava and her daughter Gwinn were taking a shuttle bus to the airport. o The driver ran a red light and collided with other vehicles in the intersection. o They were both injured, and Ava died a few days later. o There was no set belts, inadequate handholds, an no secured luggage compartments. Suit 1 - Gwinn filed her own suit. o Negligence: Bentley and the driver of the bus. Suit 2 Mothers estate Strict Liability o Arkansas Bus alleging that it had distributed and sold a defective, unreasonably dangerous shuttle bus because the bus was not equipped with seat belts, adequate handholds, or secured luggage compartments. Dismissed o Bentley Hedges and Bus Driver. Arkansas Bus Arg 1 o It could not be liable because it did not manufacture, design, or produce the bus, nor did it alter, change or modify the bus in any way from its original condition. Arkansas Bus Arg 2 o File motion of summary judgment, arguing that the doctrine of manufacturers' products liability is inapplicable to commercial sellers of used products. Trial Court For Arkansas Bus o The shuttle bus was a used vehicle when the bus exchange purchased it and that it did not alter, modify, rebuild or restore the bus. |
Rule o Manufacturers' product liability was inapplicable to the commercial seller of a used product if the alleged defect was not created by the seller, and if the product was sold in essentially the same condition as when it was acquired for resale.
Arkansas Bus Arg No modification o Any defect were created by the manufacturer. Other than changing the oil, it did not recondition, change, alter, modify, or rebuild the bus before selling it to Bentley.
Arkansas Bus Arg Majority Following o Commercial sellers of used goods are not subject to strict liability for injuries caused by defects which were present at the time of original distribution.
Kirkland v. General Motors o Manufacturers as "processors, assemblers, and all other persons who are similarly situated in processing and distribution." o The rule is that the manufacturer of the product is responsible for the product reaching its market, and the manufacturer is best situated to provide protection against the risk of injuries caused by a defective product. o Held applicable to retailers, dealers or distributors, importers, and lessors.
Moss v. Polyco o Rationale for holding non-manufacturer-suppliers to the same liability standard as manufacturers. Relying on cases from other jurisdictions, we noted that: 1) retailers like manufacturers, are engaged in the business of distributing goods to the public; 2) because they are an integral part of the overall producing and marketing enterprise, they should bear the cost of injuries resulting from defective products; 3) in some cases the retailer may be the only member of the marketing chain reasonably available to the public; and 4) in other cases the retailer may play a substantial part in insuring that the product is safe or may be in a position to exert pressure on the manufacturer to make the product safer.
Split authority
The courts generally agree that resolution of the question hinges upon the policies which underpin strict liability and whether those policies are promoted by applying the doctrine to commercial sellers of used products: 1. If the alleged defect was not created by the seller, AND 2. If the product is sold in essentially the same condition as when it was acquired for resale.
Restatement second 402A view o RS second 402A is not limited by its terms to commercial seller so of new products. It should also apply to dealers in used goods.
Tillman v. Vance Equipment o Held that a commercial seller of a used crane was not strictly liable for a defect created by the manufacturer. Reasoning 1. generally, used goods markets operate on the apparent understanding that the commercial seller makes no particular representation about the quality of the used goods simply by offering them for sale; 2. if the buyer wants assurances of quality, the buyer typically either bargains for it or seeks out dealers who routinely offer it; 3. the sale of a used product, without more, may not be found to generate the kind of expectations of safety that the courts have held are justifiably created by the introduction of a new product into the stream of commerce; 4. the position of the used-goods dealer is normally entirely outside the original chain of distribution of the product; 5. And there is typically no ready channel of communication by which the dealer and the manufacturer exchange information about possible dangerous defects in particular product lines or about actual and potential liability claims.
Affirmed
The Restatement (Second) of Torts, 402A (1965) provides:
"(1) One who sells any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer or to his property is subject to liability for physical harm thereby caused to the ultimate user or consumer, or to his property, if
(a) the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product, and
(b) it is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold.
(2) The rule stated in Subsection (1) applies although
(a) the seller has exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of his product, and
(b) the user or consumer has not bought the product from or entered into any contractual relation with the seller." |
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Rules |
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This about a used bus that was in an accident that contained no seat belts or handles. (Majority) Seller of used products is not strictly liable for a manufacturers product defects. (Minority) Sellers of used products are strictly liable. Used Product Majority Rule o Manufacturers' products liability is inapplicable to the commercial seller of a used product if the alleged defect was not created by the seller, and if the product is sold in essentially the same condition as when it was acquired for resale
Reasoning 1. In a used good market, the commercial seller makes no particular representation about the quality of the used goods. 2. if the buyer wants assurances of quality, the buyer typically either bargains for it or seeks out dealers who routinely offer it; 3. The sale of a used product may not be found to generate the kind of expectations of safety as a new product released into the stream of commerce. 4. the position of the used-goods dealer is normally entirely outside the original chain of distribution of the product; 5. There is no ready channel of communication by which the used goods dealer and the manufacturer exchange information about possible dangerous defects.
When a Used Product Seller is Strictly Liable (RESTATEMENT 3D) A used seller liable IF: o If the used seller Fails to exercise reasonable care, Then Strict Liability. OR
o In the case of a Manufacturing defect If a reasonable buyer would expect the used product to present no greater risk of defect than new product, THEN the used product seller is strictly liable. - OR
o Remanufactured by used seller (or predecessor) IF the seller of the used product or its predecessor has remanufactured the product, THEN there is strict liability.
Defining a used product
Als Used Car Lot
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Class Notes |
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