Persons

Plaintiff brought this action to recover damages for personal injuries sustained in a skiing accident. Before trial, plaintiff entered into a sliding scale settlement agreement with The Cornice Ski and Sport, Inc. (Cornice), where she rented skis equipped with Salomon 444 ski bindings; settled with United Merchandising, doing business as Big 5 Sporting Goods, where she purchased her ski boots; dismissed her action against defendant Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Inc., where she skied on the date of her accident, and dismissed her action against defendant Edison Brothers Stores, Inc., the successor in interest to United Sporting Goods, where she previously had purchased skis and ski bindings. The case was tried before a jury against the only remaining defendant, Salomon North America, Inc. (Salomon), the distributor and wholly owned subsidiary of the manufacturer of the bindings which Cornice affixed to the rental skis.

At trial, uncontradicted evidence established that the Salomon 444 bindings were incompatible with plaintiff’s untreated thermoplastic boots. Thus, when plaintiff fell while skiing, the bindings did not release and her left knee was injured. Salomon was aware…