Versa Technologies, Inc. v. Superior Court

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Opinion

BEACH, J.

Petition for writ of mandate to require respondent court to vacate its order denying petitioner’s motion for Summary judgment and to enter a new and different order granting said motion. We granted an alternative writ.

Facts:

Real party in interest, Perry Dean Motsinger, was injured by the alleged malfunction of a certain blow-molding machine and alleged that the malfunction was caused by, among other things, the defective operation of a certain cam-operated air valve. The valve bore the legend “Versa,” and was alleged to have been manufactured by petitioner, Versa Technologies, Inc.

Versa Technologies, Inc., filed a motion for summary judgment supported by the affidavit of its president to the effect that the valve in question had not been manufactured by Versa Technologies, Inc., of Racine County, Wisconsin. The declaration of Robert E. Kelly, Jr., Esq., counsel for Versa Technologies, Inc., alleged that the valve was easily identifiable as having been manufactured by Versa Products Company, of New Jersey.

The declaration of John M. Inferrera, Esq., one of the lawyers representing real party and plaintiff Motsinger, shows that he twice offered to enter a voluntary dismissal as to Mr. Kelly’s client, once before the motion for summary judgment was heard, and again after Mr. Kelly’s motion for summary judgment had been denied.

Mr. Inferrera filed no counteraffidavits in opposition to Mr. Kelly’s motion. It is alleged that the motion was denied upon the ground that there was no showing that the photographs of the valve, upon which the president of Versa Technologies, Inc., based his affidavit, represented the actual product which allegedly caused the injury. Mr. Inferrera takes the position that he did not know whether the valve was identical to the one that allegedly caused the injury, while Mr. Kelly takes the position that it was represented to him to be similar to the valve that caused the injuiy and that he photographed the valve so represented at Mr. Inferrera’s office.

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