Bailey

I.

INTRODUCTION

After appellant Jerry Bailey (Bailey) suffered an eye injury when a bottle of Cook’s Champagne exploded as he was erecting a sales display in one of *209 respondent Safeway, Inc.’s (Safeway), stores, Bailey sued the manufacturer of the champagne bottle, Saint-Gobain Containers, Inc. (Saint-Gobain), for strict liability design defect under the consumer expectation theory; Bailey also sued Safeway under that same theory and for negligence. Bailey settled with Saint-Gobain and others for $1 million plus an assignment of Saint-Gobain’s equitable indemnity rights against Safeway. After the settlement was confirmed, the case went to trial only against Safeway. The jury found that Safeway was not negligent, but that it was liable under the separate strict liability design defect cause of action.

Thereafter, Bailey filed a separate complaint for equitable indemnity against Safeway as Saint-Gobain’s assignee. The trial court sustained Safeway’s demurrer without leave to amend, and Bailey has appealed the resultant judgment of dismissal.

Upon de novo review, we first conclude that, as an assignee of Saint-Gobain, Bailey is precluded under the doctrine of…