Imagine for a second that you are a retailer of household wares and you sell a desk lamp to a customer. After several uses, the light bulb unexpectedly explodes causing the customer injuries. The cause of the explosion is unknown, but your customer files a products liability lawsuit naming as defendants, the manufacturers of the lamp and light bulb, various component distributors, and you, the retailer of the lamp.

California imposes strict liability on all participants in the chain of distribution for a defective product based upon the theory that manufacturers and distributors should bear the cost of a defective product rather than the injured person who is powerless to protect themselves, see Bostick v. Flex Equipment, (2007) 147 Cal.App.4th 80, 88 (citing Greenman v. Yuba Power Products, (1963) 59 Cal.2d 57, 63, (Greenman ); and Vandermark v. Ford Motor, (1964) 61 Cal.2d 256, 262–263); Kaminski v. Western MacArthur (1985) 175 Cal. App. 3d 445, 456. Consistent with this policy, downstream retailers and distributors have the right to seek indemnity against the manufacturer of the defective product. However, in reality, a retailer can find itself with the proverbial deck stacked against them, on the hook for potentially all of a plaintiff’s damages and without real recourse against or contribution from the more culpable upstream distributors/manufacturers.

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