In Louisiana, even a name on the product may no longer help a plaintiff climb to the apparent manufacturer level according to Pellecer v. Werner.
The Louisiana Supreme Court’s October 24, 2025 decision under the Louisiana Products Liability Act (“LPLA”) redefines the doctrine of apparent manufacturer. Traditionally, when a product bears a company’s name — and nothing suggests otherwise — that label serves as a kind of Jacob’s Ladder for plaintiffs: a symbolic and evidentiary bridge from appearance to liability.
But in this case, the Court pulled that ladder away. The justices held that a name alone — even one long associated with the product — is not enough to establish apparent manufacturer liability unless the company has affirmatively done something with or to the product itself.
The Facts: A Ladder, a Label, and Three Werners
The case involved an alleged defective ladder upon which a user was fatally injured. The ladder bore the “Werner” name, a brand nearly synonymous with ladders. But the entities sued — Werner Holding Co., Inc. and Werner Co. (Delaware) — were not the same Werner that had actually manufactured the ladder. The original manufacturer, Werner Co. (Pennsylvania), had gone bankrupt and changed its name to Old Werner.
The new Werner entities had acquired some of Old Werner’s assets, keeping the Werner trademark specifically because of the brand name recognition. When the plaintiffs brought suit under the LPLA against Old Werner and Werner Co. (Delaware) and Werner Holding Co., Inc., they argued as to Werner Co. (Delaware) and Werner Holding Co., Inc. that, because the ladder’s label said “Werner” and there was no contrary information (no marketing or other consumer information put out by them to disassociate them from the Werner name), the defendants had “held themselves out” as the manufacturer.
A jury agreed, awarding a verdict of $5,036,012 and assigning 50% of the fault to Werner Co. (Delaware) and Werner Holding Co., Inc., jointly. The trial court affirmed the jury verdict, having denied the defendants’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The court of appeal affirmed, deferring to the jury’s finding that the label created a reasonable public perception of who made the product was not manifestly erroneous and that a “fair interpretation of the evidence” was in support of the jury verdict.
The Supreme Court Reverses: No Ascent Without Action
The Louisiana Supreme Court, however, stopped this climb cold. It reversed the jury’s verdict, holding that the mere appearance of a company’s name on a product — without more — is not enough to make that company an apparent manufacturer under La. R.S. 9:2800.53(1)(a).
The Court emphasized that liability requires affirmative engagement with the product — a real-world connection beyond the label, with the following sound bites:
“Nothing establishes that defendants ‘put out’ or held out as their own the ladder.”
“When a defendant holds itself out as a manufacturer, it necessarily includes a level of engagement in the process of manufacturing or distributing the product, or a level of control or influence over the subject product.”
“One must do something to or with the product that affects it in a meaningful way.”
In short: No Action = No Ascent.
Without evidence that the defendants designed, built, sold, or controlled the ladder, the Court found no basis to hold them liable, despite the label and despite consumer perception.
From Penn v. Inferno to Werner: The Ladder Splits
The Court’s reasoning initially highlighted the pre-LPLA decision in Penn v. Inferno Manufacturing Corp. — where an exploding sight glass bore only the defendant’s label, and the court found apparent manufacturer liability because “an observer would not know that anyone other than” the defendant had made it. Without further comment to show why the LPLA’s apparent manufacturer should not sound in this concept in a case with very similar facts, the Court declined to climb that same path. It instead tightened the doctrine: a company must actually “do something” with the product, not just lend its name to it.
That shift transforms the apparent manufacturer doctrine from one of public appearance to one of corporate action. It is apparent that apparently was not enough to the Werner court.
The Jury’s Ladder — Kicked Away
Perhaps the most striking part of the decision lies not in its statutory interpretation, but in its stance toward the jury. Louisiana appellate courts ordinarily give great deference to jury verdicts, especially where issues of appearance, labeling, and perception are at stake — all matters that jurors are uniquely positioned to assess. The court of appeal followed that tradition, affirming the verdict as supported by reasonable inferences.
The Supreme Court, however, citing its “right and obligation to determine whether a trial court verdict is clearly wrong based on the evidence…” concluded that the jury’s findings were not after all supported by any “legal or factual” basis. This is particularly intriguing considering the prior case law on apparent manufacturer liability emphasizing liability attaches to the apparent manufacturer “when viewed from the perspective of the purchasing public,” a question that most naturally lends itself more to a fact determination.
The Court basically set the Penn v. Inferno doctrine up in flames. Leaving that doctrine based around what the public sees, the Court made room for more rungs on the ladder for the product liability plaintiff to climb beyond just labels and perception. “Actions” sufficient to assign apparent manufacturer liability means more than just use of the name.
The Dissent: The Label Still Counts
Justice Hughes dissented, warning that the majority had “moved the rungs” of the apparent manufacturer ladder in response to a relatively large jury verdict. He argued that retaining the “Werner” name after acquiring Old Werner’s assets was itself a form of holding out — a deliberate branding choice that signaled continuity. For him, that act satisfied the statute, and the jury’s verdict should have remained intact. The majority’s new “do something” requirement, he posited, added words that the legislature never wrote — and erased a jury’s finding that fit the common sense meaning of “apparent manufacturer.”
Practical Implications: How Manufacturers and Insurers Should Read the Rungs
For manufacturers, insurers, and product liability counsel, Werner offers both clarity and caution:
- Brand ≠ Control. A familiar label or trademark on a product is not enough to make its owner a manufacturer under the LPLA.
- Control Is the Key Rung. Liability now requires affirmative control or influence over the product’s design, manufacture, or distribution.
- Acquisition Clarity Matters. Asset purchase agreements should clearly limit successor obligations and define how legacy branding will be used.
- Insurance Exposure Narrows. Policies and risk assessments can better distinguish between branding rights and manufacturing activity.
- Expect More Summary Judgments. Courts will likely decide apparent manufacturer claims as a matter of law, not fact, unless plaintiffs can show tangible involvement with the product.
Conclusion: The Ladder Stops Short
For years, a company’s label on a product was the plaintiff’s Jacob’s Ladder — a symbolic ascent from appearance to accountability. The name on the product provided the path upward, connecting perception to liability.
But in Werner, the Louisiana Supreme Court set the final rungs up in flames. A label, no matter how prominent, is no longer a bridge to the courthouse. To reach the top — to impose apparent manufacturer liability — plaintiffs must now show not only whose name is on the ladder, but whose hands were on it.
In Louisiana, at least for now, the label is just a label — and the climb stops there.
Adrien Busekist and Randy Cangelosi are members of Kean Miller’s Products Liability Litigation group, representing Fortune 1000 manufacturing, industrial, energy, technology, petrochemical, and food service clients in liability litigation involving mass disaster or individual incidents with machinery, safety equipment, tools, and various industrial and consumer products.