State Ex Rel. Bunting v. Koehr

ROBERTSON, Judge.

We issued our alternative writ in mandamus, Mo. Const, art. V, § 4, to decide whether a dealership that purchases a manufacturer’s products for resale, performs warranty work on a manufacturer’s products and who, as part of the sale of a manufacturer’s products, extends the manufacturer’s warranty to the consumer is an agent of the manufacturer for purposes of venue. § 508.040, RSMo 1986. We hold that such activities do not render the dealer an agent of the manufacturer.

In the underlying case, the trial court sustained defendants’ motion to dismiss the plaintiffs petition for…