Opinion ID: 2045861
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: apparent manufacturer doctrine

Text: The apparent manufacturer doctrine stems from the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 400 at 337 (1965), which states: One who puts out as his own product a chattel manufactured by another is subject to the same liability as though he were its manufacturer. Comment d. to § 400 sets out the situations in which the doctrine applies, and states in part: The rule stated in this Section applies only where the actor puts out the chattel as his own product. The actor puts out a chattel as his own product in two types of cases. The first is where the actor appears to be the manufacturer of the chattel. The second is where the chattel appears to have been made particularly for the actor. In the first type of case the actor frequently causes the chattel to be used in reliance upon his care in making it; in the second, he frequently causes the chattel to be used in reliance upon a belief that he has required it to be made properly for him and that the actor's reputation is an assurance to the user of the quality of the product. Id. at 338. In its essence, this doctrine simply allows a fact finder to transfer the liability of a manufacturer to a separate entity holding itself out as the manufacturer. Two rationales are provided for the doctrine. First, it is argued that when a seller causes the public to believe that it is the manufacturer of the product (through labeling, advertising, et cetera), a consumer will rely on that company's reputation and care in making products. As such, the selling company should be estopped from disclaiming any liability simply because it did not actually manufacture the product. See, Burkhardt v. Armour & Co., 115 Conn. 249, 161 A. 385 (1932); Davidson v. Montgomery Ward & Co., 171 Ill.App. 355 (1912). The second underlying rationale for the doctrine is that where a defendant puts out a product as its own, the purchaser has no means of ascertaining the identity of the true manufacturer, and it is thus fair to impose liability on the party whose actions effectively conceal the true manufacturer's identity. Hebel v. Sherman Equipment, 92 Ill.2d 368, 372, 65 Ill.Dec. 888, 890-91, 442 N.E.2d 199, 201-02 (1982).