Suppliers Are Liable Under Ohio Product Liability Act
Liability under the Act extends to manufacturers and suppliers. A manufacturer is defined as a person or entity "engaged in a business to design, formulate, produce, create, make, construct, assemble, or rebuild a product or a component of a product." A supplier is a person or entity that, in the course of business conducted for that purpose, either (1) "sells, distributes, leases, prepares, blends, packages, labels, or otherwise participates in the placing of a product in the stream of commerce"; or (2) installs, repairs, or maintains any aspect of a product that allegedly causes harm."
Liability under the Act extends to manufacturers and suppliers.
A manufacturer is defined as a person or entity “engaged in a business to design, formulate, produce, create, make, construct, assemble, or rebuild a product or a component of a product.” [1]
A supplier is a person or entity that, in the course of business conducted for that purpose, either (1) “sells, distributes, leases, prepares, blends, packages, labels, or otherwise participates in the placing of a product in the stream of commerce”; or (2) installs, repairs, or maintains any aspect of a product that allegedly causes harm.” [2] A supplier, however is only liable if (a) the supplier was negligent and the negligence proximately caused the claimant harm; or (b) the product in question, when it left the supplier’s control, did not conform to to a representation made by the supplier. [3] A supplier may also be liable under the Ohio Product Liabiltiy Act if it (a) marketed the product under its own label, or if the supplier modified the product and those modifications rendered the product defective.
- §2307.71(A)(9).
- §2307.71(A)(15).
- 2307.78.(A)