Kenneth S. Merber & Peter J. Lopalo Successfully Defended and Obtained Complete Dismissal of Product Liability Claim in Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County

On May 12, 2020, Kenneth S. Merber and Peter J. LoPalo obtained summary judgment and the complete dismissal of Plaintiff’s product liability claims suit filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County.

Plaintiff alleged that she sustained serious physical injuries including burns after she was served a hot beverage from a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise. Plaintiff alleged the cup and/or lid were defective. She also alleged the various defendants were negligent. GVK’s client was is a distributor for Dunkin’ Donuts franchises and was alleged to have manufactured the subject products and placed them into the stream of commerce.

Kenneth and Peter successfully defended the suit by demonstrating that their client was not a manufacturer of the subject cup and lid. They further proved that their client was entitled to the Product Seller Immunity Provisions under the New Jersey Products Liability Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:58C-9 and demonstrated that National DCP exercised no control over the design, manufacturing, packaging or labeling of the cup and lid, was not aware that the subject cup and lid could cause harm and did not create a defect that contributed to the subject incident.