Ortiz v. South Bend Lathe

Opinion

COMPTON, J.

Sometime prior to August of 1955, the Johnson Machine and Press Company, Inc. (Johnson) manufactured a punch press which was admittedly defective. In August of 1955, Meyer Sheet Metal Machinery Company (Meyer), the sole distributor for Johnson in this area, sold the press to Western Lighting Corp. who continued to use the press until September 1967. In September 1967, plaintiff Refugio Ortiz, an employee of Western Lighting Corp. was injured as a result of the defect in the press. He received workmen’s compensation benefits from Fremont Indemnity Company (Fremont), the…