Merfeld v. Dometic Corp., No. 18-1308 (8th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs filed suit against Dometic, alleging that the fire that extensively damaged a storage building and personal property owned by plaintiffs was caused by a defective Dometic refrigerator installed in their RV. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to Dometic, holding that Dometic was immune from liability under Iowa Code 613.18 because it sold, but did not manufacture, design, or assemble the refrigerator. The court held that any design input by Dometic was not related in any way to the boiler tubes, or that Dometic had any role in designing the boiler tubes.
Court Description: Loken, Author, with Kelly and Erickson, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Products liability. The district court did not err in determining that because defendant sold, but did not manufacture, design or assemble the refrigerator which allegedly caused a loss, it is immune from liability under Iowa Code Section 613.18; any design work defendant may have performed on the refrigerator was not related in any way to the components which caused the loss, and it had no liability for negligent design under Section 613.18(1)(a).
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