Non-Manufacturing Sellers May Use ‘Innocent Seller’ Provision as Affirmative Defense, Miss. High Court Rules

JACKSON, Miss. — The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that the “innocent seller” provision of the state’s Products Liability Act provides an affirmative defense for non-manufacturing product sellers because it gives immunity to innocent sellers without placing a burden of proof on a plaintiff.

In a Nov. 14 opinion, the high court, in answering a question of first impression, said Mississippi law is very clear that “innocent sellers who are not actively negligent” cannot be liable “in any action for damages caused by a product.”

Timothy Hinton was deer hunting in 2012 when he fell from his tree stand. Hinton …