FNS Mortgage Service Corp. v. Pacific General Group, Inc.

This is an appeal from a defendant’s summary judgment in an action for damages caused by defective plastic plumbing pipe installed in a 384-unit apartment complex. We will reverse the summary judgment.

Plaintiff, FNS Mortgage Service Corporation, is a developer and owner of the apartment complex. Cross-complainants, Pacific General Group, Inc., and P.E. O’Hair & Co., are, respectively, the general contractor and the distributor of the defective pipe. Defendant and cross-defendant is the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (LAPMO), a nonprofit association controlled by officials engaged in the enforcement of local plumbing codes.

LAPMO promotes uniformity in the plumbing trade through its Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) and publishes a plumbing research directory which lists plumbing products that it has found to meet UPC standards. Virtually all public entities, including the City of Sacramento, have adopted the UPC. An unlisted pipe not bearing the UPC logo is unmarketable, as building inspectors will not sanction its use. Plumbing wholesalers will not sell, and plumbers will not buy, such unlisted pipe.

The defective pipe was listed by IAPMO…