City of Franklin v. Badger Ford Truck Sales

In City of Franklin v. Badger Ford Truck Sales, 58 Wis. 2d 641, 207 N.W.2d 866 (Wis. 1973), the seller of a fire truck equipped with a defective and unreasonably dangerous wheel was found strictly liable along with the wheel manufacturer and the truck chassis manufacturer. Despite the observation that the seller "was in no position to detect the hidden defect," the Franklin court reversed an indemnity judgment in favor of the seller and against the other defendants. Franklin held that where each of multiple defendants is guilty of negligence as a matter of law toward the plaintiff, the applicability of contribution, not indemnity, between multiple defendants is required. Id. at 870. The Franklin court noted: "'The granting of indemnity in any situation represents a judicial choice of policy.'" Id. at 872 n. 17.