In Brief
A vehicle dealer challenged a tribunal award holding it jointly and severally liable with the manufacturer for compensation in a fatal accident. The Supreme Court held that a dealer is not liable merely for possessing the vehicle for sale. Since the vehicle was under the control and command of the manufacturer through its employees at the time of the accident, only the manufacturer remained liable. The Court ruled that contractual clauses limiting liability for defects cannot exclude tortious liability, and that a party failing to appeal against an adverse finding cannot later invoke procedural rules to reverse finality. The appeal was partly allowed, making clear the dealer should not bear liability but leaving the claimants' right to recover from the manufacturer undisturbed.
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