Westinghouse Electric Corp. v. Superior Court

Petitioners, Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Westinghouse Electric Supply Company (Westinghouse) seek a writ of mandate directing respondent court to render its order pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 583, subdivision (b), dismissing Kern County Superior Court case No. 147035, a complaint for damages entitled “The Travelers v. Westinghouse Electric Corporation et al. ” Amicus curiae briefs have been filed in support of the petition by Easier Electric Company, Sprague Electric Company, Pfocon, Inc. and the Signal Companies, Inc. (Easier, Sprague, Procon/Signal), all of which companies were brought into the superior court action by way of cross-complaints for indemnity and contribution.

Facts

Real party in interest, the Travelers (Travelers), filed its complaint for damages in the Kern County Superior Court on May 9, 1977. The complaint alleged that Travelers’ assignor was utilizing a “capacitor trip device” which it had obtained from Westinghouse. During use, the device failed to trip the circuit breaker to the main motor control of the hydrocracker unit, causing damage to the equipment approximating $176,000 and damage resulting from loss of income (due…