Brown v. United States Stove Co.

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

HANDLER, J.

This is a strict products liability case that raises the issue of whether a manufacturer can be held liable for a design defect of its product when, after leaving the control of the manufacturer, that product was rendered more dangerous by its substantial alteration or misuse by a subsequent purchaser. The principles of law that generally govern the resolution of this question were considered in Soler v. Castmaster, Division of H.P.M. Corp., 97 N.J. 137 (1984), decided today. This appeal calls for further consideration of whether the product…