Union Supply Co. v. Pust

Larry Pust (plaintiff) had his arm caught in an unguarded nip point of a conveyor as he was cleaning sugar-beet pulp from the conveyor. Pust’s arm and part of his shoulder had to be amputated. Pust sued Union Supply Co. (Union Supply) (defendant), the manufacturer of the conveyor based on strict liability and breach of implied warranty, alleging design defect because (1) the conveyor should have had safety guards and an automatic cleaning device; and (2) failure to warn of the hazards of working at the nip point. At trial, Pust’s expert, Dr. Youngdahl, introduced two sets of nongovernmental, industry-consensus conveyor safety codes that Dr. Youngdahl was involved in formulating: (1) Safety Code B20.1 of the American Standards Association, approved by the Conveyor Equipment Manufacturer’s Association (CEMA) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME); and (2) National Safety Council Data Sheets 569 and 570, drafted by an engineering committee of the National Safety Council and approved by many groups, including CEMA and ASME. The trial court admitted the standards on the issue of design defect. The district court granted Union Supply’s motion to dismiss the complaint. The appellate court reversed, saying there were issues of fact for the jury. The Colorado Supreme Court granted Union Supply’s request for certiorari.