Hill v. Sears, Roebuck and Co

This interlocutory appeal presents a narrow question. It is whether the two defendants who installed plaintiff Marcy Hill’s electric washer and dryer owed plaintiffs a legal duty in tort with respect to plaintiffs’ uncapped gas pipe. It is not about what duties were owed to plaintiffs by the *673former owners of the house. It is not about what duties were owed by the party who detached and removed the gas dryer. It is not about whether any of those parties or any defendant in this case ultimately should be held liable for the gas explosion that destroyed plaintiffs’ home.

The majority concludes…