By John J. Megjugorac, Esq.
It is undisputed that manufacturers may be held strictly liable for defective products that cause a plaintiff’s injury. That principle is a central concept behind products liability actions. However, what duty, if any, does a servicing distributor of a defective or dangerous product owe to a plaintiff injured by a machine? New Jersey Courts faced with this question have reached different results depending on the facts of the case. In Lally v. Printing Machinery Sales and Co., 240 N.J. Super. 181 (App. Div. 1990), the Appellate Division distinguished the duties of a manufacturer or rebuilder of a machine from those of an occasional maintenance or service provider. The Lally Court found that the latter had no duty to install safety devices or warn others of the potential danger in operating the machine without safety devices. Lally, supra at 186. In Lally, the plaintiff was injured while operating a machine that had been repaired by the defendant maintenance company. [Read more…]
