Products Liability Law Reporter

A Florida trial court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for leave to amend to add a claim for punitive damages in a wrongful death case against an electrical receptacle manufacturer.

Members of the Ferrer family, including mother Robin, 46, lived in a leased home in Ramrod Key, Fla. The living room of the home contained electrical outlets designed, manufactured, and sold by Pass & Seymour, Inc., including a Pass & Seymour 3232 duplex receptacle. One evening, the outlet arced, sending sparks onto a nearby couch. This started a fire, which spread rapidly through the house, killing Robin, her 7-year-old son, and her 5-year-old daughter. Robin’s older son and daughter survived the fire but suffered emotional distress from witnessing the deaths of their loved ones.

The younger son and daughter’s father, on behalf of their estates; Robin’s surviving daughter, individually and on behalf of her estate; and Robin’s surviving son, individually, sued Pass & Seymour, Inc., alleging strict liability claims for defective design, defective manufacturing, and failure to warn; negligence; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The plaintiffs asserted that the defendant’s receptacles had an inadequate angle of insertion for electrical plug blades, which caused the receptacle’s internal components to bend. This, in turn, led to overheating and degradation over time, creating a fire risk.

The plaintiffs also moved for leave to amend their complaint to add a claim for punitive damages. The plaintiffs asserted that despite the defendant’s notice and knowledge of several years of consumer complaints regarding the 3232 receptacle, it continued to manufacture the outlet for more than eight years and failed to issue a recall or notify consumers of the potential defect.

The trial court granted the plaintiffs’ motion, accepting their threshold proffer that the defendant had willfully pursued a course of action with wanton disregard of the potential for harm. The trial date reportedly has been continued in light of the pandemic.

Citation: Ferrer v. Pass & Seymour, Inc., No. 15-CA-001050-K (Fla. Cir. Ct. Monroe Cty. Dec. 24, 2020).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Thomas Scolaro and Thomas Graham, both of Miami.