Products Liability

Question 1

Products Liability: Strict Liability

Answer 1

Elements:
1) D is a commercial supplier
* Suppliers have a strict duty to supply safe goods
* Commericial supplier = one who routinely deals in the product sold, including any merchant in the stream of commerce
-E.g. manufacturer, distributor, supplier
-Casual sellers, service providers are not suppliers
2) Product is defective
-Defect must make product unreasonably dangerous
3) Defective product was actual and proximate cause of P’s injury
-Product must not be substantially altered between leaving commercial supplier and reaching consumer
4) P used the product in a foreseeable manner
-P’s misuse of the product can be foreseeable

Question 2

Products Liability Strict Liability: who can sue

Answer 2

Foreseeable users or bystanders
-E.g. buyers as well as their guests, employees, family, etc.

Question 3

Products Liability Strict Liability: Damages

Answer 3

P can recover for physical injury or property damage, but not soley for economic losses

Question 4

Manufacturing defect

Answer 4

• Product departs from its intended design, causing it to be more dangerous than all of the manufactuer’s other products of the same kind
• Requirements: P must show that the product failed to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect

Question 5

Design defect

Answer 5

• Product creates an unreasonable risk of danger due to its faulty design
• Requirements: P must show a technologically and economically feasible alternative design or modification that would be safer as to the risk at issue

Question 6

Inadequate warning

Answer 6

• Manufacturer fails to adequately warn of a non-obvious risk associated with a product’s use
• Includes duty to warn of foreseeable dangers from misuse
• Requirements: P must show that the product failed to have clear and complete warnings of any dangers that would not have been ordinarily apparent to consumers
• D is not liable for risks that were unforeseeable at the time the product was marketed

Question 7

Inadequate warning: Unavoidably unsafe products

Answer 7

• Unavoidably unsafe products: if a product cannot be made safe for its ordinary use (e.g. chain saw, firearms) manufacturer must give:
  1) Proper instructions for use; and
  2) Adequate warnings of known dangers

Question 8

Products liability: Negligence theory

Answer 8

Elements:
1) Duty of care: each commericial supplier in the stream of commerce owes a duty to all foreseeable product users and bystanders
2) Breach of duty: D’s negligence leads to the supplying of a defective product
-Retailers and wholesalers satisfy due care by a cursory inspection of the product (this makes it difficult to hold them negligent for product defects)
3) Causation: P must show actual and proximate cause
-Note: an intermediary’s negligent failure to discover a defect does not absolve the upstream commerical supplier of liability
4) Damages: P must show physical injury or property damage
-Economic loss alone is not recoverable
5) Defenses: all standard negligence defenses are available

Question 9

Implied warranties: Merchantability

Answer 9

Seller warrants that goods are of average acceptable quality (i.e without defects) and generally fit for their ordinary purpose

Question 10

Implied warranties: Fitness for particular purpose

Answer 10

• If seller a) knows or has reason to know the particular purpose for which buyer is purchasing, and b) buyer relies on seller’s skills or judgment, seller implies that goods are fit for that purpose
• E.g. a shoe store salesperson helping a buyer find ideal running shoes for running on trails

Question 11

Implied warranties: who can sue

Answer 11

Implied warranty protection extends to a buyer’s family, household, and guests who suffer personal injury

Question 12

Implied warranties: Elements

Answer 12

1) Warranty: existence of an implied warranty
2) Breach: product fails to live up to applicable warranty
3) Causation: actual and proximate
4) Damages: personal, property, and economic are all recoverable
5) Defenses: assumption of risk, contributory and comparative negligence

Question 13

Liability based on representation

Answer 13

D may be liable if a product falls short of an affirmative representation made to buyer

Question 14

Express warranty

Answer 14

• A statement of material fact or promise regarding goods sold that becomes part of the basis of the bargain
• Any consumer or bystander can sue for breach
• Bystanders need not have relied on the express warranty, as long as the original purchaser did

Question 15

Express warranty: Elements

Answer 15

Same as for implied warranties:
1) Express warranty: replied upon by purchaser
2) Breach: product fails to live up to the warranty
3) Causation: actual and proximate cause
4) Damages: personal, property, and economic loss
5) Defenses: assumption of risk, contributory and comparative negligence

Question 16

Products liability: Misrepresentation of fact

Answer 16

• Seller will be liable for any misrepresentation made in the course of a sale if:
  1) Seller made a misrepresentation regarding a material fact concerning the quality or use of the goods;
  2) Seller intended to induce reliance by buyer; and
  3) The misrepresentation induced justifiable reliance