Lyons v. Premo Pharmaceutical Labs, Inc

In Lyons v. Premo Pharmaceutical Labs, Inc., 170 N.J. Super. 183, 406 A.2d 185 (App.Div.), certif. denied, 82 N.J. 267, 412 A.2d 774 (1979), the Court addressed the question of whether a "broker" of the drug DES could be strictly liable in tort for injuries sustained by the child of a woman who took the drug while she was pregnant. Id. at 188-89, 406 A.2d 185. While acknowledging that the broker was "in a sense, in the chain of distribution and contributed to placing the product in the stream of commerce," the Court ultimately determined that the broker "must be shown . . . to have exercised control over the product" in order to be held strictly liable for injuries caused by the product. Id. at 196-97, 406 A.2d 185. The Court concluded that the broker's role was that of a facilitator rather than an "active participant," noting that the broker never had physical control of the product and had merely arranged the sale. Id. at 196, 406 A.2d 185.