ALABAMA SLING MAKER DISMISSED FROM NEW YORK LAWSUITS
After a 20,000-pound HVAC unit fell some 30 stories, the manufacturer of the sling which held that machinery was sued in a series of lawsuits for “personal injuries, property damage, and loss of business in the area.”
When that Alabama-based company asked that the cases be dismissed for "lack of jurisdiction," the New York County Supreme Court denied that request. But on appeal, the Appellate Division, First Department, reversed.
The appellate court was of the view that since the manufacturer did not “to do or solicit business regularly in New York, engage in any persistent course of conduct in New York, or derive substantial revenue from New York,” the cases were not properly maintainable.
Additionally, the AD1 thought that the company couldn't have anticipated that its product would have “direct consequences in New York.” Among other things, the sling was sold back in 2008 to a Connecticut company, who then sold the device to a New York entity. Absent a demonstration that the manufacturer should have reasonably expected the device to end up in New York (some years later), jurisdiction could not attach, and dismissal of the lawsuits filed against the company was directed.
Think they were slinging drinks after that decision?
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DECISION