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Torts keyed to Robertson
Pennfield Corp. v. Meadow Valley Electric, Inc.
Citation:
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1992. 413 Pa.Super. 187, 604 A.2d 1082.Facts
The Plaintiff, Pennfield Corp., owned a pig farm. 1,537 of the Plaintiff’s pigs were suffocated when their electrically operated ventilation system in their farm failed. Pennfield sued the Defendant, Meadow Valley Electric, Inc., who was the corporation that performed repair and maintenance services on the electrical equipment at the farm. The Plaintiff’s complaint alleged that a defective electrical system installed by the Defendant caused the system to fail resulting in the suffocation of the pigs.
The Defendant then filed a joinder complaint to add numerous additional defendants including York Electrical Supply Co. (York), alleging that the ventilation system failed and that the cause of the failure was due to defective electrical cable purchased either from York or another distributor. The Defendant claimed that York was liable on theories of strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranties.
York responded to the Defendant’s joinder complaint with preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer. The main crux of York’s objections is that to make out a cause of action in strict liability, negligence, or breach of warranties, the Defendant has to specifically identify which defendant supplied the defective cable. York notes specifically that the Defendant pleaded that the electrical cable used that failed was bought either from York or another supplier and that cable bought from both could not be identified or distinguished.
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Topic Resources
Topic Outline
DamagesTopic Refresher Course
Negligence: Joint Tortfeasors, Identification and Contribution