N.Y. High Court Reaffirms Summary Judgment Criteria in Defective Design Case

ALBANY - New York's highest court has reinstated a restaurant worker's defective design cause of action against the makers of a caustic drain cleaner, saying that in pursing summary judgment the makers of inherently dangerous products must show that the product's utility outweighs the dangers. Yun Tung Chow, et al. Reckitt & Colman, Inc., et al., No. 81 (N.Y. Ct. App.).

The Court of Appeals concluded in its May 10 opinion that defendant Reckitt & Colman failed to offer evidence to support such a finding and it reinstated the worker's defective design claim.

Plaintiff Yun Tung Chow suffered the loss …