HEATH v. SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO.

Nos. 82-170, 82-458, 82-485, 82-497. No. 82-203. No. 82-275. Nos. 82-314, 83-093. No. 83-053.

123 N.H. 512 (1983)

CLIFFORD A. HEATH & a. v. SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO. & a. CHARLES EASTMAN & a. v. CHASE MACHINERY & SUPPLY CO., INC., & a. MICHAEL WELCH v. AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC. WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM v. INVACARE ROGER S. KIDDER & a. v. JEAN-GUY'S USED CARS AND PARTS, INC., & a. NORMAN MALLETT & a. v. BRIDGEPORT MACHINES, DIVISION OF TEXTRON, INC. SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO. v. WHITE ROGERS DIVISION, EMERSON ELECTRIC CO. GEORGE D. LINEHAN, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF FRANCIS A. LINEHAN v. CLARK EQUIPMENT CORP. & a. ETHEL L. HOLT & a. v. RAICHE MOBILE HOMES, INC.

Supreme Court of New Hampshire.

July 18, 1983.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Shute, Engel & Morse P.A., of Exeter (Mark S. Gearreald on the brief and orally), for Clifford A. and Carole A. Heath.

Wadleigh, Starr, Peters, Dunn & Kohls, of Manchester (John A. Lassey on the brief and orally in No. 82-170, and Theodore Wadleigh on the brief and orally in No. 82-314), for Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Law Offices of James J. Kalled, of Ossipee (Robert G. Whaland on the brief and orally), for Charles and Marilyn Eastman.

Kearns, Colliander, Donahue & Tucker P.A., of Exeter (David S. Brown on the brief and orally), for Chase Machinery & Supply Co., Inc.

Holland & Aivalikles, of Nashua (William E. Aivalikles on the brief), by brief for Michael Welch.

Devine, Millimet, Stahl & Branch P.A., of Manchester (Lee C. Nyquist on the brief and orally), for American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

Craig, Wenners, Craig & McDowell P.A., of Manchester (Vincent A. Wenners, Jr., on the brief and orally), for William Cunningham.

Stark & Peltonen P.A., of Manchester (John E. Peltonen on the brief and orally), for Invacare.

Upton, Sanders & Smith, of Concord (Gilbert Upton and Gary B. Richardson on the brief, and Mr. Richardson orally), for Roger S. and Edith Kidder.

Sulloway, Hollis & Soden, of Concord (John W. Mitchell on the brief and orally), for Jean-Guy's Used Cars and Parts, Inc.

Wadleigh, Starr, Peters, Dunn & Kohls, of Manchester (Ronald J. Lajoie on the brief, and Katherine M. Hanna orally), for Jordan-Milton Machinery, Inc.

Burns, Bryant, Hinchey, Cox & Shea, of Dover (James H. Schulte on the brief and orally), for Norman and Sandra Mallett.

Ransmeier & Spellman, of Concord (Brian T. McDonough on the brief and orally), for Bridgeport Machines, Division of Textron, Inc.

Ouellette, Hallisey, Dibble & Tanguay P.A., of Dover (William L. Tanguay on the brief and orally), for White Rogers Division, Emerson Electric Co.

Hamblett & Kerrigan P.A., of Nashua, for George D. Linehan, administrator of the estate of Francis A. Linehan.

Devine, Millimet, Stahl & Branch P.A., of Manchester, for Clark Equipment Corp.

Wiggin & Nourie, of Manchester, for International Harvester Co.

Ahlgren & Smith, of Manchester, and Laflamme, Champagne & Moquin, of Manchester, for Ethel L. and William R. Holt.

Law Offices of Emile Bussiere, of Manchester, for Raiche Mobile Homes, Inc.

Brown & Nixon P.A., of Manchester (Edward W. Stewart, Jr., on the brief), by brief for Christine Burnett & a., as amici curiae.

Stephen R. Fine, of Manchester, and Jerome L. Silverstein, of Nashua, by brief for Steven Tate, as amicus curiae.

Perkins, Phillips & Waters P.A., of Concord (Edmund J. Waters, Jr., on the brief), by brief for Roderick LeFort, administrator of the estate of Jeanne Ann LeFort, as amicus curiae.

Mulvey, Noucas & Sullivan P.A., of Portsmouth (William A. Mulvey, Jr., on the brief), by brief on behalf of toxic substance tort victims, as amici curiae.

Aeschliman & Tober, of Portsmouth, and Howard A. Specter, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Stephen L. Tober on the brief), by brief for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the New Hampshire Trial Lawyers Association, as amici curiae.

Leahy, Denault & Moody, of Claremont (Thomas P. Connair on the brief), by brief, pro se, as amicus curiae.

Myers & Laufer, of Concord (Howard B. Myers and Peter J. Duffy on the brief), by brief for Volkswagen of America, Inc., and Volkswagenwerk, A.G., as amici curiae.


DOUGLAS, J.

The plaintiffs in these consolidated appeals challenge the constitutionality of RSA chapter 507-D (Supp. 1979), governing suits for injuries caused by defective products.

In case No. 82-170, Clifford Heath was using a Sears drive ratchet to tighten the lug-bolt nuts while changing a rear tire on a logging skidder. The direction-change lever on the ratchet head snapped in two and a piece of the lever struck him, causing the near total loss of sight...

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