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Meritor Automotive3/29/2001
ufacturers submit that in fairness the statute must permit them to establish the exception to such duty through the plaintiff's pleadings as well.
Whether or not the Manufacturers' position is fair, it is simply not what the statute provides. In describing the manufacturer's duty, section 82.002(a) provides that the manufacturer must indemnify the seller except when the loss is "caused by the seller's negligence [or other independent culpable conduct]." Section 82.002(e)(1) then further elaborates on the manufacturer's duty to indemnify, stating that it "applies without regard to the manner in which the action is concluded." Thus, under (e)(1), it is the manufacturer's "duty to indemnify" that applies regardless of outcome, and plaintiff's pleadings are accordingly sufficient to invoke that duty. But for the Manufacturers to implicate section 82.002(a)'s exception to that duty, it must be established that seller's conduct "caused" the loss. In this instance, the statute's plain language indicates that the plaintiff's pleadings are not sufficient to invoke the exception.
Legislative history further confirms that the exception applies only upon a finding that the seller was independently liable. The Senate Bill Analysis explains that the Act's purpose was to "expand the indemnity rights sellers now have by requiring manufacturers to indemnify them, regardless of the outcome of the suit, for all losses from a products liability suit where the seller was not at fault." Senate Comm. on Economic Development, Bill Analysis, Tex. S.B. 4, 73rd Leg., R.S. at 2 (1993). The House Bill Analysis likewise confirms that the Act requires manufacturers to indemnify sellers for all costs incurred in a products liability action "as long as the seller was not negligent or otherwise at fault." House Comm. on State Affairs, Bill Analysis, Tex. S.B. 4, 73rd leg., R.S. at 3 (1993). This analysis goes on to explain that under the exception, "Retailers would still be held responsible if they were truly negligent, engaged in intentional misconduct or altered a product." Id. at 5.
In sum, a "products liability action" includes not only products liability claims but also other theories of liability properly joined thereto, such as the allegation of negligence in this case. And while the manufacturer's duty to indemnify the seller is invoked by the plaintiff's pleadings and joinder of the seller as defendant, the exception to that duty is established by a finding that the seller's independent conduct was a cause of the plaintiff's injury . Because in this summary judgment appeal the Manufacturers have not raised a fact issue that Ruan was negligent or that its defense costs were unreasonable, we affirm the court of appeals' judgment.
Thomas R. Phillips Chief Justice
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