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Torts keyed to Robertson
Mischalkski v. Ford Motor Company
Citation:
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1996. 935 F.Supp. 203.Facts
The Plaintiff, Mischalski, was a Polish citizen who arrived in the U.S. in 1960 and remained after his visa expired. The Plaintiff worked as an automobile mechanic. During his off hours at the auto shop he worked at, the Plaintiff started to replace the air suspension of a 1990 Lincoln Town Car owned by one of his friends. In order to life the car, the Plaintiff used a tire jack provided by the manufacturer of the car, the Defendant, Ford Motor Company. While working, the jack collapsed due to the stripping of the internal threads in the trunnion area. As a result, the Plaintiff was injured and sued the Defendant alleging product liability and failure to warn as theories.
Ford filed a motion to amend its answer to add an additional affirmative defense and for an order in limine to introduce evidence at trial of the Plaintiff’s alien status and related illegal conduct. The proposed affirmative defense stated that at the time of the occurrence alleged in the complaint, the Plaintiff was an illegal alien and was there engaged in an illegal transaction or unlicensed employment and that this should bar the Plaintiff from seeking damages.
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