## Facts

- A head-on collision occurred on August 2, 1967, on Route 144 near Albany, New York.
- Christino Paglia drove a 1967 Chrysler Newport Custom sedan southbound at about 45–50 mph on a clear, dry day.
- Paglia had owned the car about four months, driven just over 4,000 miles, and reported no prior steering problems.
- Paglia’s car suddenly drifted across a double solid line into the northbound lane and struck the Codlings’ car head-on.
- Marcia Codling owned the northbound car and was a passenger; her husband, Frank Codling, was driving.
- Evidence indicated Paglia did not sound his horn or apply brakes; short skid marks were observed; the Codlings’ car slowed and nearly stopped before impact.
- The Codlings alleged a defect in Chrysler’s power-assist steering system caused Paglia’s vehicle to cross into their lane.
- The cases were tried together; after jury selection, the Codlings settled their negligence claims against Paglia for $50,000 each, while claims against Chrysler proceeded on negligence and implied warranty theories.
- The trial court submitted special questions asking whether Chrysler negligently manufactured/assembled a defective steering system and whether Chrysler breached the implied warranty of merchantability and fitness; it instructed that a manufacturer is liable for injuries from a defective product to proper users and innocent bystanders.

## Issues

1. Whether a manufacturer may be held strictly liable (functionally, via implied warranty) to an innocent bystander injured by a defective product, without proof of negligence.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to permit a finding that a defect in the power-assist steering system existed and caused the collision.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals affirmed the imposition of liability on Chrysler.
- The court held that a manufacturer of a defective product may be held liable to a foreseeable innocent bystander without proof of negligence.
- The court sustained the jury’s determination that the Chrysler’s steering system was defective and that the defect caused the accident, relying on circumstantial and expert evidence and the nature of the malfunction.

## Legal Principles

- A manufacturer is liable for injuries caused by a defective product that is dangerous if defective, when the product is used as intended or in a reasonably foreseeable manner.
- Strict products liability in New York extends beyond purchasers and users to foreseeable innocent bystanders within the zone of risk created by the defect.
- Implied warranty concepts may serve as the doctrinal vehicle for strict products liability where the claim turns on defect and causation rather than manufacturer negligence or contractual privity.
- Defect and causation may be proven by circumstantial evidence when a relatively new product malfunctions in a manner that ordinarily would not occur absent a defect.

## Conclusion

The court confirmed that New York permits recovery against manufacturers on a strict products liability theory for injuries to foreseeable innocent bystanders, and it upheld a verdict finding that a defect in an automobile’s steering system caused a head-on collision.


Codling v. Paglia, 32 N.Y.2d 330 (N.Y. 1973)