Bendorf v. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengeselischaft

I dissent.

Plaintiff appeals an adverse judgment a second time arising out of a products liability case heretofore reversed. Bendorf v. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengeselischaft, 88 N.M. 355, 540 P.2d 835 (Ct.App.1975) (Bendorf I). We should reverse this case again.

A. Failure to instruct on sole proximate cause was reversible error.

This case was tried on the single theory of strict liability in tort based on a defective product. We are confronted a second time with instructions given to the jury. In Bendorf I, we decided the following proposition:

We stress that, in the case at bar, defendant’s theory…