Make no mistake: They're innocent

For years, one of the priority legislative lobbying initiatives of independent lumberyard dealers on Capitol Hill has been passage of some version of the Innocent Sellers Act.

And for good reason. The independent lumber and building material dealer has fallen prey to more than its share of frivolous, illogical and "it's-just-not-fair-your-honor" lawsuits. Manufacturers come and go. Contractors and builders come and go. And the dealer is often an all-too-easy target for costly and distracting legal action.

The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association reiterated its support for the bill this morning, as well as collected several classic examples:

A lumberyard was sued by someone who claimed his exposure to building materials caused him to develop mesothelioma. The plaintiff claimed he purchased building products from the dealer between 1975 and 1990. Not only was the plaintiff unable to provide any evidence that the alleged building materials contained asbestos, he was unable to provide any documents showing he even purchased the items from that lumberyard. The claim was ultimately dismissed, but not until thousands of dollars were spent to have it dismissed.

A lumberyard was sued by a contractor who fell on the job site. He and another worker were standing on a 2x10x24 board being used improperly as scaffolding. The board broke. The contractor accused the lumberyard of selling a "defective" board.

A dealer was sued when a customer's son injured his eye while hammering rocks with a hammer sold by the dealer. 

And there are numerous examples of dealers sued for a product's alleged failure, through no fault of the dealer.

A recent poll of HBSDealer readers found that protection from lawsuits was far and away the top legislative issue they would want to bring to their legislators.

The math of a lawsuit stacks up very persuasively against the independent. The end result to an innocent sale could be a no-win decision that looks like this: Fight and (possibly) win for $75,000 in legal fees, or settle for $35,000. And American lawyers are very creative in bringing these kinds of decisions to lumberyard owners.

Let's be clear. An Innocent Sellers Fairness Act wouldn't prevent all frivolous lawsuits. But in the words of West Coast LBM Association executive director Ken Dunham, "it would be one more arrow in the quiver."

Dealers need all the help they can get. Learn more about how you can support the Innocent Sellers Fairness Act here.