Black letter products liability law requires a party to be within the “chain of distribution” in order to be liable under theories of strict liability or breach of warranty for an injury caused by a defective product.1 Since New York law essentially collapses the two distinct bodies of tort law—strict products liability and negligent product design/manufacture—into one standard,2 a significant question is posed as to whether the party who is responsible for the design, if outside the chain of distribution, may be sued by a person injured by a defective product that was manufactured and distributed by others.
This situation often arises where a particular product line and its design are purchased by a wholly new company who becomes responsible for the product’s subsequent manufacture and distribution. In New York, the question of whether the original designer bears any continuing liability in tort for injuries occurring after the product’s design left its control is answered largely through consideration of two cases: Emslie v. Borg-Warner Automotive3 issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Sage v. Fairchild-Swearington4 issued by the New York Court of Appeals.
