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Rivera v. Baby Trend11/30/2005
ty placed the product in the stream of commerce, is in a position to "control the risk of harm a product might cause once put into the stream of commerce," or either created or assumed the risk of harm for the defective product. See generally Geboy v. TRL Inc., 159 F.3d 993, 997-98 (7th Cir. 1998).
In Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. v. Medina, 719 So. 2d 312, 315 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998), a man who was electrocuted while standing on top of a voltage regulator filed a products liability suit against the manufacturer of the regulator as well as the broker who arranged the sale from the manufacturer to the purchaser. On review of the trial court's denial of the broker's motion for directed verdict, the appellate court held that the motion should have been granted because the broker was not part of the distributive chain. Id. at 315. Because it was undisputed that the broker in Siemens did nothing more than forward information to the purchaser, the court concluded that he was neither a distributor nor a retailer and, at most, served only as a conduit of information. Id. There was no evidence "that [the broker]'s involvement in changing one aspect of the product's specifications relating to price had any causal relationship with the alleged defect"; therefore, the appellate court held that he was not liable for the injuries. Id.
Likewise, Baby Trend contends that, as in Siemens, Baby Trend was merely a broker and not part of the distributive chain. The evidence, however, belies that argument and distinguishes this case from Siemens. Even though Baby Trend never had actual possession of the stroller during shipment, Baby Trend was the actual seller of the product, marketed the product under the Baby Trend name, and accepted payment for the product. Moreover, there was evidence suggesting that Baby Trend had some control over the design of the product to ensure compliance with safety regulations and had, at least once, in response to an unrelated complaint, taken steps to make the product safer. On these facts, Baby Trend's role in this transaction was more than merely a "conduit of information." The fact that Baby Trend never possessed the product during its journey through the distribution chain should not preclude a strict liability claim against Baby Trend when the company clearly was responsible for placing the product in the stream of commerce and had the ability to control the design of the product.
Thus, we reverse the summary judgment in favor of Baby Trend and remand for further proceedings.
Reversed and Remanded.
STEVENSON, C.J., and POLEN, J., concur.
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