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Calloway v. City of Reno2/29/2000
nt a sound and consistent application of the economic loss doctrine.
However, in the situation alluded to by the majority in Pratt and Whitney, where a defect in one unit of a multiple occupancy structure causes property damage throughout the building, I would leave the issue of whether "other property" has been damaged to a case-by-case factual analysis. Such factual issues should turn on whether each unit is self-contained. Thus, to the extent that the same alternate scenario exists in this case, I would partially dissent from the majority.
Going further, when an identifiable component part added to the original "product" or an original piece of construction injures or damages all or part of the remainder, the added component is "other property" that may be defective from a negligence or strict liability standpoint. Thus, the added component injures "other property" for tort recovery purposes. See Worrell v. Barnes, 87 Nev. 204, 484 P.2d 573 (1971), Saratoga and the fourth corollary discussed above. Again, this notion would seem to apply equally well to products and construction litigation.
WORRELL v. BARNES
According to the majority, Worrell v. Barnes wrongly held that contractors were not in the business of "manufacturing" or selling products "within the ambit of section 402A" of the Restatement (Second) of Torts.
The property damage in Worrell resulted from a residential fire allegedly caused by a portion of a heating system installed by the defendant during a remodeling project. This court concluded that the contractor "manufactured and sold a 'product,'" which included a defective gas fitting and the portion of the gas water heating system installed during the remodeling project. Worrell, 87 Nev. at 208, 484 P.2d at 576. While the contractor did not actually manufacture the fitting, he was deemed in Worrell to have manufactured a product, to wit: the fitting and, at least impliedly, the newly installed portion of the plumbing system. Interestingly, the Worrell court implied that the doctrine of strict tort liability would apply to any kind of defect in construction, regardless of whether the defect was part of the original construction, or added subsequent to completion:
"The ordinary purchaser is not more capable of detecting a defect in a chimney flue or vent of a heating apparatus (Schipper, supra) or faulty plumbing covered by a concrete slab foundation (Humber, supra), in a house erected by a builder of two than in one constructed by a quantity builder of 200. Avner v. Longridge Estates, 77 Cal.Rptr. 633 (Cal.App. 1969); 1969-70 Annual Survey of American Law, p. 474; 13 A.L.R.3d 1057, 1097 (1967). When a plaintiff proves that while he was using an instrumentality in a way it was intended to be used he was injured as a result of a defective design and/or manufacture which made the instrumentiality unsafe for its intended use, and that he was unaware of the defect his burden has been accomplished. Restatement of Torts 2d, Comment G, ยง 402A. An owner relies upon the skill of the fabricator of a piping system, and he has a right to expect freedom from injury on the basis of the fabricator's superior knowledge.*fn19"
Worrell, 87 Nev. at 207, 484 P.2d at 575-76 (footnote added).
The Worrell court did not reach the issue of whether the economic loss rule was implicated in a construction defects suit where the finished or remodeled construction damaged itself. However, for future reference, an analysis of the economic loss doctrine under the facts of Worrell is instructive.
To compare, the primary damages deemed recoverable in tort via negligence or strict liability in Oak Grove were arguably e
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