Hales v. Green Colonial, Inc.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

JOHN W. OLIVER, District Judge.

This diversity case raises the question, not heretofore decided by Missouri courts, of whether and under what circumstances a supplier and distributor who have been held strictly liable in tort for selling a defective product may seek indemnity from the manufacturer of the product. For the reasons which we shall state, we find and conclude that the supplier and distributor in this case are entitled to indemnity from the manufacturer.

In June of 1970 plaintiff Dean Hales contacted a plumbing and heating specialist about installing a heating…