Fisher
Fisher v. Allis-Chalmers Corp. Product Liability Trust
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Vartabedian, J.
*1184 Opinion
In this case, the widow of a man burned to death by hot oil expelled by a voltage regulator brought a products liability claim against the manufacturer of the regulator and the purported successor in interest of the manufacturer. On a postjudgment motion, the trial court ruled that (1) plaintiff was entitled to relief from defendants’ requests for admission that were deemed admitted, (2) without the deemed admissions, summary judgment for defendant Allis-Chalmers Corporation Product Liability Trust (Allis Trust) was no longer appropriate, and (3) defendant Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. (Siemens) remained entitled to summary judgment because it was not a successor in interest of Allis-Chalmers Corporation (Allis-Chalmers). All parties appeal. We conclude plaintiff should be relieved of the admissions, Allis Trust is not entitled to summary judgment, and the summary judgment in favor of Siemens must be reversed.
Facts and Proceedings
I. The Accident and Claims Asserted
On March 27, 1996, Norval Fisher was working as a substation maintenance electrician for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and investigated a problem with a load tap changer on a type AFR…