Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company v. Deere and Company

Summary

The court held that the plaintiff could invoke the malfunction theory of products liability, but had not produced sufficient evidence to connect the tractor's electrical failure to a defect attributable to the manufacturer. Because the tractor had functioned for several years, had been serviced before the fire, and the plaintiff's own expert could not identify a manufacturing defect, submitting the case to the jury was improper. The judgment was reversed and the case was remanded for entry of a directed verdict for the defendant.