Bowman and Brooke attorneys Chris Carton and Jasmine Owens recently published “When A Nonmanufacturer Is The 'Apparent Manufacturer'” in Law360.
Today, with the popularity of internet sales and outsource manufacturing, it is common for nonmanufacturing retailers to simply place their label on a product. However, there are implications to retailers putting their name on a product that they do not manufacture. Under the apparent manufacturer doctrine, a nonmanufacturing retailer can be held liable for a product if it holds itself out as the manufacturer, such as through its labeling and advertising. This doctrine treats the nonmanufacturing retailer as the actual manufacturer of the product and thus allows a tort plaintiff to recover from the retailer.
Retailers must be aware of the apparent manufacturer doctrine to mitigate their risk of being held liable for products that they do not manufacture. Simply placing one's label on an outsourced product can expose the nonmanufacturing retailer to the risk of being treated as an apparent manufacturer.
Read “When A Nonmanufacturer Is The 'Apparent Manufacturer'” article here.