Products Liability Law Reporter
Decisions: Transportation
You must be a Products Liability Law Reporter subscriber to access this content.
If you are a member of the Products Liability Section or a subscriber, log in below. Not yet a Section member? Join today!
Join the Products Liability SectionAlready a subscriber? Log in
Innocent seller statute precludes claims against auto dealership in rollover case
April 6, 2021A federal district court held that an auto dealership was not liable to the estate of a man who was killed in a single-vehicle rollover incident.
Christopher Canterbury was operating a 2019 Dodge Ram while working for American Electric Power, which had purchased the vehicle from Dutch Miller of Charleston, Inc. Canterbury suffered fatal injuries when the truck slipped off the edge of the roadway and slid down a steep embankment, rolling over at least twice. Canterbury’s estate brought a state-law wrongful death and products liability suit against FCA US LLC, formerly Chrysler Group, LLC, and Dutch Miller, alleging strict liability. Chrysler removed the case to federal court, and Dutch Miller later moved to dismiss.
Granting the motion, the district court found that the West Virginia Innocent Seller Statute, W. Va. Code §55-7-31, prohibits a cause of action against a product seller except in 13 narrow circumstances. The plaintiff has not alleged any exceptions that apply to seller Dutch Miller, the court said, concluding that her claims against this defendant are therefore precluded.
Citation: Canterbury v. FCA US LLC, 2021 WL 1032307 (S.D. W.Va. Mar. 17, 2021).
