TX: General Contractor Not a “Seller” for Purposes of Products Liability Indemnification

Many jurisdictions have enacted protections for “innocent” sellers of products found to be defective in an attempt to place the burden of compensation on the party with (the most) fault, generally the manufacturer.  Texas has a statute allowing an innocent seller to receive indemnification.  A general contractor incorporated a defective roof truss into its project and the issue arose whether the contractor was a “seller” for purposes of the statute.  The court ruled it was not, as it was not in the business of selling roof trusses, rather the provision of roof trusses was incidental to its general construction services.  Jones Day’s website has details.