Opinion ID: 2228031
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Clarklift

Text: Clarklift purchased the forklift from Clark in 1979 and sold it shortly thereafter to Georgia-Pacific. As the seller in 1979, Clarklift assumed the status of a manufacturer, pursuant to the product liability statutes. See Neb.Rev.Stat. § 25-21,180 (Reissue 1995) (defining a product liability action as any action brought against a manufacturer, seller, or lessor of a product ....). In 1992, Clarklift repurchased the forklift from Georgia-Pacific and significantly refurbished the forklift in preparation for resale to Wahoo Concrete. Affording Divis every reasonable inference deducible from the evidence, we will assume that the refurbishing, together with the addition of the side-shifter, extended the useful life of the forklift with regard to Clarklift. See Zimmerman v. FirsTier Bank, 255 Neb. 410, 585 N.W.2d 445 (1998). Nonetheless, Divis must still demonstrate the refurbishing was a proximate cause or a proximately contributing cause of the accident. See Richardson v. Gallo Equipment Co., supra . The evidence universally demonstrates the accident was not caused by the refurbishing, but, rather, by the latent weld defect in the masts of the forklift dating back to the original manufacture in 1979. Divis' attorney conceded during oral argument that the record is devoid of any evidence that the 1992 modifications caused the original weld to fail. Given the absence of any evidence even remotely suggesting that the refurbishing was a proximate cause or a proximately contributing cause of the weld failure, we conclude that Divis' claim against Clarklift was time barred by the 10-year statute of repose. See id.