On May 17, 2012, the Hartford Superior Court, Complex Litigation Docket part, granted summary judgment to ABB, Inc., dismissing the product liability claims against it in Lake Road Trust, Ltd., et al. vs. ABB, Inc., et al., docket number HHD X04 CV-10-6016502 S. Plaintiffs, the owner-operators of a power plant, sued ABB, Inc. and others over a transformer failure. The transformer was manufactured by a former ABB company.
The court accepted ABB, Inc.'s position that it did not design, manufacture or sell the transformers. They court rejected plaintiff's arguments that statements, made in connection with the repair of another of plaintiff's transformers, created a fact issue over whether ABB, Inc. could be a "product seller" within the meaning of the Connecticut product liability statute, or an "apparent manufacturer." Significantly, the court found that the apparent manufacturer doctrine is limited to common law claims, and doesn't apply to claims brought under the Connecticut Product Liability Act.
ABB, Inc. was represented by Robert Joyce along with ABB, Inc's in-house counsel, Jeff Young.