Steven Satz and Richard Mirra Author Article for New Jersey Defense Magazine
Partner Steven Satz and Of Counsel Richard Mirra co-authored the lead article in the Winter edition of the “New Jersey Defense”, the publication of the New Jersey Defense Association. It focused on a published decision by the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court that addressed for the first time in this state an equipment manufacturer’s liability for injuries caused by replacement parts, to be installed in its equipment by others following the sale, that it neither manufactured, distributed or sold. The Court’s opinion in Elbert Hughes v. Goulds Pumps, et al was the first time a NJ higher court weighed in on an issue that has cropped up in cases across the country, and resulted in conflicting opinions. The opinion followed the consolidated appeal, by four Plaintiffs, of Orders of summary judgment obtained for the firm’s client, a pump manufacturer, by partner Steve Satz at the trial level.
Richard Mirra of the firm spearheaded the firm’s work at the appellate level and and in opposing plaintiffs' petition for certification to the Supreme Court, joined by partner Satz. The Appellate Division affirmed the grant of summary judgment by the trial judge in all four cases. The Plaintiffs sought to appeal the decision of the Appellate Division to the New Jersey Supreme Court, but it refused to hear the case. The opinion therefore constitutes the prevailing state of the law on that issue in New Jersey. Please view the PDF below to see the full article.