Bocre Leasing Corporation, Plaintiff v. General Motors Corporation (Allison Gas Turbine Division), Defendant

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals answered the certified question in the negative, holding that a downstream purchaser cannot recover in tort, whether under strict products liability or negligence, for contractually based economic losses—including damage to the product itself—stemming from a defect in a product manufactured many years earlier. The court relied on the East River decision and policy considerations favoring contractual risk allocation.