The Oklahoma Bar Journal April 2026

B usiness & C orporate L aw

Can the Economic Loss Doctrine Be Your Economic Gain Doctrine? How the Potential Expansion of the Doctrine Can Protect Your Business

By Wilson D. McGarry and Evan G. Vincent

I N APRIL 2025, TWO OKLAHOMA COURT CASES quietly clarified the legal landscape to potentially better protect businesses and corporations from tort liability when the damages in a dispute are strictly economic in nature and arise from a contractual relation ship. This article explores the implications of the economic loss doctrine, as discussed in the Oklahoma Supreme Court case Mills v. J-M Mfg. Co. 1 and the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals case Proe v. Diamond Homes , 2 and whether those cases set the stage for broader application of the doctrine, which, in Oklahoma, has traditionally been limited to manufac turer’s products liability cases.

experienced excessive conden sation buildup. 5 The plaintiffs asserted claims of design defect and breach of warranties. The plaintiffs’ damages were the mobile home’s deterioration from the excessive condensation, which was essentially the cost of the mobile home. The plaintiffs did not assert a claim for personal injury or other property damage; their damages were strictly eco nomic in nature. As an issue of first impression, the Oklahoma Supreme Court addressed the

To the extent the economic loss doctrine is ripe for expansion, this article examines how that might impact Oklahoma businesses, contractual risk allocation and the scope and application of the doctrine. A historical review of the doctrine is significant to highlight the principles underpinning the doctrine and the rationale for its potential expansion in Oklahoma.

HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF THE ECONOMIC LOSS DOCTRINE IN OKLAHOMA The economic loss doctrine “is a court-created doctrine that bars recovery under manufactur er’s product liability for purely economic injury to the product itself.” 3 In Oklahoma, the doctrine traces its roots to Waggoner v. Town & Country Mobile Homes, Inc . 4 There, the plaintiffs (consumers) sued a mobile home manufac turer under theories of products liability after their mobile home

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

30 | APRIL 2026

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL