Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, WARNINGS ISSUES—INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL EQUIPMENT—N.Y. App. Div.: Summary judgment for grain auger suppliers reversed in operator’s death case, (Apr 29, 2025)

By Pankhuri Bhatnagar, B.A. LL.B.

Genuine issues existed as to whether the auger suppliers negligently failed to warn the decedent of a danger that was not open and obvious.

In an action brought against a grain auger’s manufacturer and sellers by the estate of a man who was killed after becoming entangled in the machine, the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division reversed a trial court’s order granting summary judgment to the suppliers. The design defect, failure to warn, and wrongful death counts made against the manufacturer survived because it failed to show that the product was not defective at the time of its sale or that it was manufactured in accordance with the then-prevailing industry standards, and the estate’s expert raised triable issues as to the adequacy of the auger’s warning labels (Arcangeli v. Global Industries, Inc., No. CA 23-1463 (N.Y. App. Div. Apr. 25, 2025)).

Background. While working on his family farm, a man was fatally injured after becoming entangled in a grain auger he had purchased secondhand in 2014. His estate brought suit against the auger’s manufacturer—Global Industries, Inc., as successor in interest to Hutchinson Mayrath, Inc., and/or Mayrath Industries, Inc., and/or Royal Industries, Inc. (collectively, Global)—and against three individuals (sellers) who conducted business as Hares Farms. The sellers purchased the auger between 2012 and 2014 from a prior owner who acquired it at auction, and they sold it to the decedent after a few months of use. The machine contained guards covering a connection point at the time the farm owners purchased it, but those guards were not present at the time of the accident. Notably, the decedent died upon becoming entangled at the unguarded connection point in 2019. His estate asserted claims for negligent design, strict liability design defect, and failure to warn against Global, a negligence count against the sellers, and wrongful death claims against both the manufacturer and sellers (together, suppliers). A trial court granted summary judgment to the suppliers and the estate appealed.

Strict liability design defect. Global bore the burden of showing “through the affidavit of a person with qualifications, experience, or personal knowledge in the design, manufacture or use of the product” that the product complied with all applicable industry standards..., and that the product was reasonably safe for its intended use when it was manufactured.” Chamberlain v. MAC Trailer Mfg., Inc., 128 A.D.3d 1336, 1337–1338 (4th Dep’t 2015). The court found that Global’s expert’s affidavit was insufficient to establish that the auger had been manufactured in accordance with then-prevailing standards. Additionally, the manufacturer could not rely on a substantial modification defense because it did not establish that the auger was not defective at the time it was manufactured and sold. Hoover v. New Holland N. Am., Inc., 23 N.Y.3d 41, 56 (2014). Because Global failed to meet its initial burden, the court did not need to examine the estate’s opposing evidence, Winegrad v. New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 N.Y.2d 851, 853 (1985), and summary judgment was reversed as to this claim.

Strict liability failure to warn. As clarified in Gian v. Cincinnati Inc., 17 A.D.3d 1014, 1016 (4th Dep’t 2005), a manufacturer’s duty to warn extends to any person exposed to a foreseeable and reasonable risk of harm and continues even if the product has been substantially modified or if original safety devices have been rendered inoperative. Even assuming Global met its initial burden, the estate’s expert affidavit—which opined that the auger’s warning labels were insufficient—created a triable issue of fact. The trial court’s dismissal of this claim was therefore improper.

Negligent design. Because the elements of negligent design largely mirror those of strict products liability, the court reinstated this claim as well. For the same reasons Global failed to obtain dismissal on the strict liability design defect theory, it was not entitled to summary judgment on the corresponding negligence claim. Beechler v. Kill Bros. Co., 170 A.D.3d 1606, 1608 (4th Dep’t 2019).

Negligent failure to warn. As to the sellers, the estate alleged that they failed to warn the decedent that a guard shield was missing from the auger when they sold it to him. Even assuming the sellers met their initial burden, the court held that the estate raised a triable issue of fact as to whether the danger was open and obvious and thus whether the sellers owed a duty to warn the decedent. Under New York law, even casual sellers owe a duty to warn of hazards that are not open or obvious or readily apparent to reasonable users. Rosario v. Monroe Mech. Servs., Inc., 158 A.D.3d 1155, 1157 (4th Dep’t 2018). Moreover, a “condition that is ordinarily apparent to a person making reasonable use of [their] senses may be rendered a trap for the unwary where the condition is obscured or the plaintiff is distracted.” Accordingly, whether a hazard is open and obvious is a fact-specific inquiry that depends on the surrounding circumstances. Because reasonable minds could differ on whether the decedent knew about the hazard, summary judgment was not warranted to the sellers. Johnson v. Delta Intl. Mach. Corp., 60 A.D.3d 1307, 1308 (4th Dep’t 2009).

Wrongful death. Finally, the appellate court reinstated the estate’s wrongful death claim against all defendants. Because the underlying tort claims survived summary judgment, the wrongful death cause of action could proceed as well. EPTL 5-4.1(1); Freeland v. Erie County, 204 A.D.3d 1465, 1467 (4th Dep’t 2022).

The case is No. CA 23-1463.

Judge: Lindley, S.

Attorneys: John A. Collins (Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP) for Kathy Arcangeli. David M. Fulvio (Barclay Damon LLP) for Global Industries, Inc.

Companies: Global Industries, Inc.

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