Gregg A. Tatarka (Partner-White Plains, NY), Dirk J. Muse (Partner-Seattle), and Carinne Bannan (Associate-Seattle) prevailed on summary judgment in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, for a consumer product and appliance distributor. In this product liability subrogation matter, the plaintiff brought an action to recover costs paid to its insureds for damage to their home when the washing machine leaked. The insureds argued the manufacturer was liable for a manufacturing defect and claimed $400,000 in damages. 

Gregg, Dirk, and Carinne filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the statute of repose barred a claim against our appliance distributor client related to the 15-year-old machine and that there was no evidence of a manufacturing defect. The court concurred that there was no evidence of any manufacturing defect and granted Wilson Elser’s motion, the decision bolstered by the plaintiff's expert's opinion that a common industry phenomenon caused the leak.