The NAM joined with 4 other organizations urging a New York appeals court to reverse a lower court ruling that held a manufacturer liable for failing to disclose the hazards that arose from products made, sold or installed by another manufacturer. Under common law, manufacturers are only liable for hazards in their own products. We opposed the court’s creation of a new duty to warn about hazards a manufacturer does not produce or put in its products. Such a duty would require syringe manufacturers to warn of the drugs that might be used in the syringe, or lighter manufacturers to warn of the hazards of smoking, or bread or jelly manufacturers to warn of the foreseeable risk of peanut allergies in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
The duty to warn should be placed on the party in the best position to know the risk, and any economic loss should be borne by the party who caused it.
The case was settled in November, 2009, without a decision.