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Guerrero v. Allison Engine Company3/22/2000
ical product line with the same personnel at the same facility should result in its being liable to Laguna and Guerrero for the defect in the enhanced diffuser which allegedly caused the helicopter crash at issue. Under such facts the "product line exception" to the general rule of successor non-liability should apply. (Appellant's Brief at 9.)
A. Standard of Review
In reviewing a motion for summary judgment, this court applies the same standard as the trial court. We must determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact and whether the law has been correctly applied by the trial court. Summary judgment is appropriate only if no genuine issues of material fact exist and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Neither the trial court, nor the reviewing court, may look beyond the evidence specifically designated to the trial court. Once the movant for summary judgment has established that no genuine issue of material fact exists by submission of materials contemplated by T.R. 56, the non-movant may not rest on his pleadings but must set forth specific facts, using supporting materials contemplated under the rule, which show the existence of a genuine issue for trial. A trial court's grant of summary judgment is `clothed with a presumption of validity,' and the appellant bears the burden of demonstrating that the trial court erred. Stevenson v. Hamilton Mut. Ins. Co., 672 N.E.2d 467, 470-71 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996) (internal citations and quotation omitted).
B. The Indiana Product Liability Act - Strict Liability
The Indiana Product Liability Act provides the following grounds for action:
Sec. 1. Except as provided in section 3 of this chapter, a person who sells, leases, or otherwise puts into the stream of commerce any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to any user or consumer or to the user's or consumer's property is subject to liability for physical harm caused by that product to the user or consumer or to the user's or consumer's property if:
(1) that user or consumer is in the class of persons that the seller should reasonably foresee as being subject to the harm caused by the defective condition;
(2) the seller is engaged in the business of selling the product; and
(3) the product is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without substantial alteration in the condition in which the product is sold by the person sought to be held liable under this article. Ind. Code § 34-20-2-1.
Indiana's Product Liability Act is a codification of the common law of products liability. Whittaker v. Federal Cartridge Corp., 466 N.E.2d 480, 482 (Ind. Ct. App. 1984).
An action for strict liability in tort against sellers and manufacturers of defective products is governed by Indiana Code § 34-20-2-3, which reads as follows:
A product liability action based on the doctrine of strict liability in tort may not be commenced or maintained against a seller of a product that is alleged to contain or possess a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer unless the seller is a manufacturer of the product or of the part of the product alleged to be defective.
One purpose of this section is to deter manufacturers from producing products that are unreasonably dangerous to foreseeable users. See Maxon Corp. v. Tyler Pipe Industries, Inc., 497 N.E.2d 570, 578 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986). "While a manufacturer is under no duty to produce accident proof products, it is legally bound to design and build products which are reasonably fit and safe for the purpose for which they are intended." Liberty Mutual Ins. Co.
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