MildredA.Billy,asExecutrixofJosephM.Billy,Jr.,Deceased.docVIP

Mildred A. Billy, as Executrix of Joseph M. Billy, Jr., Deceased, Appellant, v. Consolidated Machine Tool Corporation et al., Respondents [NO NUMBER IN ORIGINAL] Court of Appeals of New York 51 N.Y.2d 152; 412 N.E.2d 934; 432 N.Y.S.2d 879; 1980 N.Y. LEXIS 2638; CCH Prod. Liab. Rep. P8852 ?September 3, 1980, Argued ?October 21, 1980, Decided ?Appeal, by permission of the Court of Appeals, from an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the Fourth Judicial Department, entered July 6, 1979, which unanimously affirmed (1) an order of the Supreme Court at Special Term (Robert J. McDowell, J.), entered in Monroe County, granting defendants motion for summary judgment and dismissing the complaint, and (2) the judgment entered thereon.Plaintiffs decedent, an employee of defendant USM Corporation, was killed in the course of his employment when a 4,600-pound ram from a vertical boring mill broke loose and struck him. Although the decedents widow received workers compensation benefits, she subsequently commenced a common-law tort action against USM Corporation, seeking recompense for the decedents personal injuries and wrongful death. Also named as party defendants were Consolidated Machine Tool Corporation, Farrel-Birmingham Company and Farrel Corporation, all of which had been absorbed by USM through corporate mergers prior to the accident. The vertical boring mill which allegedly caused decedents injuries had been designed and manufactured by Consolidated Machine Tool Corporation and Farrel-Birmingham Company. In her complaint, plaintiff alleged that the accident had been caused by certain defects in the manufacture and design of the vertical boring mill and in the two moving parts that had been directly involved in the accident, a metal lifting bar and a 4,600-pound ram.The Court of Appeals modified the order of the Appellate Division by reinstating plaintiffs causes of action against USM Corporation and, as modified, affirmed, holding, in an