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Garage sale items

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debodun

Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

If a person sells an item at a garage sale and the buyer or one of the buyer's loved ones is injured using that item, what chance would the buyer have of successfully suing the seller for damages?
(e.g.) A man buys a snow sled for his kids at a garage sale and one of the kids is injured playing with it. Now the buyer wants to sue the seller for selling an item that injured his child.
 


swalsh411

Senior Member
Little to none unless the item was defective/dangerous. (for example if you sold somebody a gun that you know might blow in their face when they shot it and didn't warn them then you might have some liability).
 

OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
If anything, the buyer should be sued or charged. They are the one who negligently decided the person/child they permitted to use an item, was responsible enough.
 

Mass_Shyster

Senior Member
If the garage sale seller purchased the sled and intentionally modified the sled so it would be likely to cause injury, then the answer is yes, the garage sale seller can be held liable.

If the garage sale seller recently purchased the garage with the contents and sold the contents for $1 per pound, and the seller has no other connection to the sale of sleds, then answer is probably no, the garage sale seller will likely not be held liable.

Somewhere between these two extremes is the line between liability and non-liability.
 

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