Colorado § 13-21-401 - Definitions.

§ 13-21-401. Definitions.

As used in this part 4, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Manufacturer" means a person or entity who designs, assembles, fabricates, produces, constructs, or otherwise prepares a product or a component part of a product prior to the sale of the product to a user or consumer. The term includes any seller who has actual knowledge of a defect in a product or a seller of a product who creates and furnishes a manufacturer with specifications relevant to the alleged defect for producing the product or who otherwise exercises some significant control over all or a portion of the manufacturing process or who alters or modifies a product in any significant manner after the product comes into his possession and before it is sold to the ultimate user or consumer. The term also includes any seller of a product who is owned in whole or significant part by the manufacturer or who owns, in whole or significant part, the manufacturer. A seller not otherwise a manufacturer shall not be deemed to be a manufacturer merely because he places or has placed a private label on a product if he did not otherwise specify how the product shall be produced or control, in some significant manner, the manufacturing process of the product and the seller discloses who the actual manufacturer is.

(2) "Product liability action" means any action brought against a manufacturer or seller of a product, regardless of the substantive legal theory or theories upon which the action is brought, for or on account of personal injury, death, or property damage caused by or resulting from the manufacture, construction, design, formula, installation, preparation, assembly, testing, packaging, labeling, or sale of any product, or the failure to warn or protect against a danger or hazard in the use, misuse, or unintended use of any product, or the failure to provide proper instructions for the use of any product.

(3) "Seller" means any individual or entity, including a manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, or retailer, who is engaged in the business of selling or leasing any product for resale, use, or consumption.

Source: L. 77: Entire part added, p. 820, § 2, effective July 1.

ANNOTATION

For liability of successor corporations under the Colorado products liability act, see Ruiz v. ExCello Corp., 653 P.2d 415 (Colo. App. 1982); Florum v. Elliott Mfg. Co., 629 F. Supp. 1145 (D. Colo. 1986), aff'd in part, rev'd in part, 867 F.2d 570 (10th Cir. 1989).

The plain meaning of the phrase "otherwise prepares a product" does not encompass use of one's name on that product. Townsend v. Toro Co., 735 F. Supp. 3d 1352 (D. Colo. 2024).

Therefore, placement of branded labels that identify the product as that of the rental company does not transform an innocent seller into a manufacturer where the actual manufacturer's brand and name were also conspicuously displayed. Townsend v. Toro Co., 735 F. Supp. 3d 1352 (D. Colo. 2024).

Nor does placement of a GPS tracker after the product was manufactured transform the product in any meaningful way. Townsend v. Toro Co., 735 F. Supp. 3d 1352 (D. Colo. 2024).

Nor does the completion of check-in/check-out procedures or cleaning and maintenance of the product along with the distribution of safety manuals, where there is no evidence that the cleaning or maintenance altered or modified the product. Townsend v. Toro Co., 735 F. Supp. 3d 1352 (D. Colo. 2024).

By negative implication, the statute allows a seller who places a private label on a product without disclosing the actual manufacturer to be held liable as a manufacturer. Yoder v. Honeywell, Inc., 104 F.3d 1215 (10th Cir. 1997); Long v. United States Brass Corp., 333 F. Supp. 2d 999 (D. Colo. 2004); Heinrich v. Master Craft Eng'g, Inc., 131 F. Supp. 3d 1137 (D. Colo. 2015).

An injured party seeking to assert the apparent manufacturer doctrine need not show that he or she was actually misled, deceived, or suffered some unfairness or injustice related to the seller's labeling of the product in addition to proving that the seller placed a private label on a product and did not disclose the identity of the actual manufacturer. Heinrich v. Master Craft Eng'g, Inc., 131 F. Supp. 3d 1137 (D. Colo. 2015).

Placement of branded labels that identify the product as that of the rental company does not transform an innocent seller into an apparent manufacturer where the actual manufacturer's brand and name were also conspicuously displayed. Townsend v. Toro Co., 735 F. Supp. 3d 1352 (D. Colo. 2024).

To hold a seller liable as a manufacturer, the plaintiff must prove that the seller had both actual knowledge of the design and use of the final product and actual knowledge that the final product was unreasonably dangerous without a warning. Bond v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co., 868 P.2d 1114 (Colo. App. 1993); Townsend v. Toro Co., 735 F. Supp. 3d 1352 (D. Colo. 2024).

Liability for injuries caused by a product will not be imputed to a corporation that provides the trademark but has no role in the manufacturing process or the sale of the product. Yoder v. Honeywell, Inc., 900 F. Supp. 240 (D. Colo. 1995), aff'd, 104 F.3d 1215 (10th Cir. 1997).

Negligence claim allegations that fall within the definition of "product liability action" in subsection (2) are barred by § 13-21-402. Townsend v. Toro Co., 735 F. Supp. 3d 1352 (D. Colo. 2024).

Applied in Roberts v. May, 41 Colo. App. 82, 583 P.2d 305 (1978); Persichini v. Brad Ragan, Inc., 735 P.2d 168 (Colo. 1987); Rice v. Armstrong World Indus., Inc., 653 F. Supp. 763 (D. Colo. 1987).