Manufacturers and others involved in the chain of distribution can be liable when consumers are harmed by product defects when they use the products in the manner in which they were intended to be used. When an agent of a manufacturer introduces a defect in a product that later injures a consumer, the manufacturer might still be liable. In Defries v. Yamaha Motor Corporation USA, Cal. Ct. App. Case No. E073017, the California Court of Appeal considered a case in which a man was injured while riding a motorbike that had been improperly assembled by an authorized dealer of Yamaha and whether Yamaha could properly be held liable for the dealer’s negligence.
Factual and Procedural Background
In December 2016, Chad Defries’ wife bought a Yamaha dirt bike for her husband as a Christmas present. Mr. Defries first rode the bike one month later. He took it out a second time on Feb. 2017 with two friends, including Johnny Kitchin and Johnny Butcher. The trio decided to ride their bikes at a dirt bike course in Perris. While riding through a portion of the course that consisted of a series of small hills, the throttle on Defries’ motorcycle fell off the handlebar, causing the handlebar to turn to the left and Defries to fall off the bike in a motorcycle accident. Defries broke his right femur, suffered a separated shoulder, and suffered a hernia. Butcher and Kitchin both testified that they saw the throttle hanging off of the bike detached from the handlebar when they loaded the bike in their truck.