Dismantling, Salvaging or Demolishing a Product Is Not a Foreseeable Use of the Product
The First Department determined the dismantling, salvaging and demolishing of valves containing asbestos did not constitute a foreseeable use of the valves. The complaint against the manufacturer of the valves, sounding in strict products liability and negligence, was dismissed.
“A manufacturer who sells a product in a defective condition is liable for injury which results to another when the product is used for its intended purpose or for an unintended but reasonably foreseeable purpose” (Lugo v LJN Toys, 75 NY2d 850, 852 1990] [citations omitted]; see also New Holland at 53-54). The issue, which has not been squarely addressed by the courts of this State, is whether dismantling constitutes a reasonably foreseeable use of a product. * * *
“To recover for injuries caused by a defective product, the defect must have been a substantial factor in causing the injury, and the product must have been used for the purpose and in the manner normally intended or in a manner reasonably foreseeable'” … . As plaintiff did not use [defendant’s] manufactured product in a reasonably foreseeable manner and his salvage work was not an intended use of the product, the complaint should have been dismissed. Hockler v William Powell Co., 2015 NY Slip Op 04765, 1st Dept 6-9-15