Attorneys Fabio Sciarrino and ­­­­­Mark Merlini, Jr. of MOODK’s Philadelphia office obtained a dismissal with prejudice on behalf of their client, a flea market organizer, in a products liability claim. Plaintiff was injured when the tires on his used snowblower exploded during inflation. Plaintiff claimed that the snowblower, which was purchased from a flea market, was defective and subject to a recall.  In their complaint, they argued that secondhand retailers (i.e. thrift shops, flea markets, garage sales, etc.) not only have a duty to disclose “defective or unsafe operating conditions” but also to “realize” those unsafe conditions.  In the pleadings stage, the case was removed from the Court of Common Pleas to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania where MOODK attorneys successfully argued that Plaintiff had fraudulently joined their client in the lawsuit and, furthermore, Plaintiff’s theory about the standard applicable to secondhand retailers, is untenable and a reach of current law.   In its opinion, the Court held that there was “simply no basis … in Pennsylvania law” to require secondhand retailers to inspect “seemingly legal, safe, and ordinary products to ensure they are not subject to recall or are otherwise dangerous.”