Distributor Not Liable If Only Installs Equipment

The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has interpreted Indiana's Product Liability Act (IPLA) to exclude from liability a distributor who only installs a piece of equipment. In Williams v. REP Corporation, the plaintiff was injured by a machine at work. The plaintiff sued the foreign manufacturer of the machine and the manufacturer's United States distributor. However, the distributor was not involved in the sale of the machine to the plaintiff's employer; the distributor only installed the machine at the manufacturer's request. The Court of Appeals held that the distributor could not be liable because the IPLA applies only to an entity which "sells, leases, or otherwise puts into the stream of commerce" a defective product. The Court held that because the distributor did not sell the machine, the distributor could not be liable even though the plaintiff could not obtain personal jurisdiction over the manufacturer. The Court also concluded that installing the machine did not mean that the distributor put the machine "into the stream of commerce" within the meaning of the Act.