The defense applies where a supplier sold to an employer with independent knowledge of the product's hazards. Courts consider the employer's actual knowledge, the supplier's reasonable reliance, and the burden of direct warning.
The bulk supplier defense is a related doctrine.
Alternative Names:
Sophisticated User Defense, Knowledgeable Employer Defense
Why it Matters?
The defense works best for raw material and bulk suppliers who had no practical means of warning end users and sold to industrial purchasers with their own hygiene programs. Evidence of the employer's knowledge is the essential element, established through its safety programs, monitoring records, and industry publications it received. The defense is weaker where the supplier's own knowledge exceeded the employer's or where warnings were feasible.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
When does the defense work best?
What evidence supports it?
