## Facts

- Sportsman’s Guide, Inc., a non-manufacturing retailer, sold Timothy Hinton a tree stand and fall-arrest system (harness and tree strap) manufactured by C&S Global Imports, Inc.
- In 2012, while hunting, Timothy fell about eighteen feet when the tree strap failed; he later died from his injuries.
- Timothy’s parents sued for wrongful death under the Mississippi Products Liability Act (MPLA), alleging the product was defective and unreasonably dangerous.
- Evidence showed earlier (2004–2005) harness models had failed safety tests and were recalled in 2007; Sportsman’s Guide received recall notices and notified customers.
- The 2009 harness model involved in the accident had passed safety tests and had not been recalled.
- The manufacturer defaulted; litigation focused on potential recovery from the retailer.

## Issues

1. Whether the retailer waived the MPLA “innocent seller” defense by not raising it earlier in the litigation.
2. Whether the retailer qualified as an “innocent seller” under Mississippi Code § 11-1-63(h), such that it was immune from products-liability claims absent a statutory exception.
3. Whether Mississippi law should be displaced on policy grounds in favor of Minnesota law to preserve a remedy when the manufacturer is judgment-proof.

## Decision

- The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for Sportsman’s Guide.
- The court held the retailer did not waive the innocent-seller defense because it was fully litigated at summary judgment without unfair surprise or prejudice.
- The court held Sportsman’s Guide was an “innocent seller” and the plaintiffs failed to produce evidence bringing the retailer within any statutory exception.
- The court declined to apply Minnesota law or alter Mississippi’s statutory allocation of liability based on policy concerns.

## Legal Principles

- Under Mississippi Code § 11-1-63(h), a non-manufacturing seller is not liable in a products-liability action unless a statutory exception applies (e.g., substantial control over the aspect alleged to be defective, alteration or modification causing harm, or actual/constructive knowledge of the defect coupled with a failure to warn).
- To defeat innocent-seller immunity at summary judgment, a plaintiff must produce evidence tying the seller’s conduct or knowledge to the defect in the specific product that caused the injury; a manufacturer’s past recalls or poor reputation, without product-specific knowledge, is insufficient.
- Courts apply the governing Mississippi statute as written; policy arguments to expand seller liability are for the Legislature, not the judiciary.

## Conclusion

The court held that, on the summary-judgment record, the retailer was immune from MPLA liability as an innocent seller because the plaintiffs did not show any statutory exception—particularly no evidence that the retailer knew or should have known of a defect in the 2009 model involved in the accident.


Hinton v. Sportsman’s Guide, Inc., 285 So. 3d 142 (Miss. 2019)