Temple

This is an appeal from a summary judgment in favor of Velcro USA, Inc. (Velcro), defendant and respondent.

Plaintiff and appellant Paula Temple (Temple) brought the within action for the wrongful death of her husband. His death was caused by a crash of his Raven S-55 hot air balloon after it had plummeted to the ground. Temple claims one of the causes for the crash was the failure of a Velcro closure on the deflation panel of the balloon.

The Raven S-55 was manufactured in 1974 by Raven Industries Inc., a defendant in the lower court action, who is not a party to this appeal. Velcro manufactured and wholesaled a polyester Velero closure consisting of a hook and loop which was used on the balloon to hold the deflation (or rib) panels in place. In its moving papers for a summary judgment Velcro presented the following facts: At the time of Temple’s husband’s death, Velcro’s hook and loop closure was being used to secure the deflation panel on a great number of hot air balloons then in use including the Raven S-55. Velcro never participated in the design, manufacture, sale or servicing of hot air balloons.

It eventually learned that its product was being used on such…