Who can be sued in a product liability case?

The chain of distribution

Restatement (Third) of Torts § 1 holds "one engaged in the business of selling or otherwise distributing products" strictly liable for a defective product. The chain typically includes:

• Manufacturer. Primary defendant; responsible for design and manufacturing defects.
• Component manufacturer. Liable when a defective component caused the injury.
• Assembler. Liable when assembly introduced or failed to discover a defect.
• Distributor and wholesaler. Strict liability in most states; often included for jurisdiction or coverage purposes.
• Retailer. Strictly liable in most states; defendant-narrowing statutes in some.

Seller statutes

About a dozen states have enacted statutes narrowing retailer liability — Tennessee (Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-28-106), Kansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland (for certain products), Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania (limited), and Texas (limited). Most allow plaintiff to keep the retailer in the case if the manufacturer is insolvent, immune from U.S. process, or otherwise unreachable. Plead the statutory exceptions specifically.

Component manufacturers

A component maker is liable when (1) the component is defective, (2) the defect causes the injury, and (3) substantial modification by the integrator did not break the causal chain. Defenses include the sophisticated-intermediary doctrine — when the buyer is sophisticated enough to evaluate the component and integrate it safely (a hospital purchasing surgical staples, for example), the component maker may be discharged.

Foreign manufacturers

Foreign makers can be sued when personal jurisdiction attaches. The Supreme Court's Nicastro decision narrowed jurisdiction by rejecting pure stream-of-commerce theories absent some targeted activity toward the forum. Establish jurisdiction through: direct U.S. sales, U.S. distribution agreements, a U.S. subsidiary, regulatory submissions to U.S. agencies, or service through the Hague Convention.

Successor and predecessor liability

When the manufacturer has merged, sold assets, or gone bankrupt, successor liability theories can keep the case alive: continuation of enterprise, de facto merger, mere continuation, or fraudulent-transfer theories. Some jurisdictions apply a product-line successor doctrine specifically for product cases.