Court Opinion

ID: 9544885
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:02:53.188019+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:13:44.254140
License: Public Domain

RIORDAN, Justice, specially concurring. I concur in the result reached by the majority. I do not join the majority because the opinion does not overrule the cases of Rudisaile v. Hawk Aviation, Inc., 92 N.M. 575, 592 P.2d 175 (1979) and Stang v. Hertz Corporation, 83 N.M. 730, 497 P.2d 732 (1972). Both cases stand for the proposition that a lessor who leases chattels, can be held strictly liable in tort if the chattel is defective thereby causing injuries. In Stang, Justice McManus relied upon the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (1965) in adding this concept to New Mexico’s law. Section 402A speaks in terms of a “seller”. It is reasonable to assume that both a “manufacturer” and a “retailer” fit into this category. However, a “lessor” should not be included in this category. As pointed out by then Chief Judge Wood of the New Mexico Court of Appeals in Stang v. Hertz Corporation, 83 N.M. 217, 490 P.2d 475 (Ct.App.), rev’d on this issue, 83 N.M. 730, 497 P.2d 732 (1972), the Restatement (Second) of Torts makes a distinction between a “seller” and a “leasor”. Restatement (Second) of Torts §§ 407 and 408 (1965) provide the standard for liability against lessors in terms of negligence, not strict liability. In the present case, we are now faced with the logical extension of this erroneous line of cases. If such extension is allowed to continue, the present case would hold that a motel owner is liable as a “lessor” just as Rudisaile and Stang hold that a lessor is liable as a “seller”. I commend the majority in bringing this to a halt before taking the next step. However, they do not go far enough. I would overrule both Rudisaile and Stang in their application of strict liability in tort as to a “lessor”.