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Torts > Strict Liability and Products Liability > Flashcards

Strict Liability and Products Liability Flashcards

1
Q

Strict Liability Torts

A

A defendant is liable for injuring a P whether or not the D exercised due care. As to certain activities, the policy of the law is to impose liability regardless of how carefully a D conducted himself

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2
Q

Categories of Strict Liability Torts

A

Include:

  • Possession of Animals and
  • Abnormally Dangerous Activities
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3
Q

Possession of Animals: Wild Animal Rule

A

If D keeps a wild animal and P gets injured because it does something characteristic of that animal, the keeper is SL no matter how unforeseeable the harm.

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4
Q

What is a Wild Animal?

A

An animal not customarily devoted to the service of humankind at the time and place where it is kept.

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5
Q

Possession of Animals: Domestic Pet Rule

A

A pet owner is only liable if they are on notice of a domestic pets dangerous propensities.

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6
Q

Domestic Animals to Which Dangerous Propensities are Normal

A

Do not invoke strict liability including:

  • bulls
  • stallions
  • mules
  • rams
  • bees
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7
Q

Animal Attacks Against Trespassers

A
  • If a P is an unknown trespasser, most jurisdictions do not impose any liability for injuries inflicted by a Ds animals, even those with known dangerous propensities.
  • If the P is any other type of trespasser a D is liable only for negligence.
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8
Q

Abnormally Dangerous Activities

A

A judge determines whether an activity is abnormally dangerous by considering if:

  • the activity creates a risk of serious injury as to the P, his land, or his chattels
  • the risk cannot be eliminated by the exercise of due care; and
  • the activity is not usually conducted in that area
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9
Q

Abnormally Dangerous Activity: Type of Harm

A

In order for SL to apply –> the harm to the P must have resulted from the type of danger that justified classifying the animal or activity as dangerous.

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10
Q

Abnormally Dangerous Activities: Superseding Causes

A

A superseding cause may relieve a strictly liable D of liability as well.

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11
Q

Defenses to Strict Liability

A

Include:

  • Contributory Negligence
  • Comparative Negligence
  • Assumption of Risk
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12
Q

Defenses to Strict Liability; Contributory Negligence

A

At CL –> was not a defense unless P knew of danger and his contributory negligence caused exactly that danger to be manifested (complete bar to recovery)

-ML –> contributory negligence only applies as a defense to strict products liability (even then it only reduces value)

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13
Q

Defenses to Strict Liability: Comparative Negligence

A

Some states that have adopted comparative fault systems reduce the recovery of plaintiffs whose negligence contributes to their own injuries involving SL situations. This is usually limited to situations involving misuse, abnormal use, or indep negligence.

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14
Q

Defenses to Strict Liability: Assumption of Risk

A

A P may be found to have assumed the risk of injury and be completely barred from recovery in a SL situation if:

  • the P knows of and appreciates the danger justifying imposition of SL and
  • voluntarily exposes himself to such danger
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15
Q

Products Liability

A

Can be premised on multiple theories:

  • SL (Strict Products Liability)
  • Negligence
  • Warranty
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16
Q

Strict Products Liability

A

When a plaintiff is injured by a defective product, for which an appropriate D is responsible.

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17
Q

Strict Products Liability: Who Can Bring a Claim?

A

Any user, consumer, or bystander physically injured by a defective product can bring a claim.

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18
Q

Strict Products Liability: Proper Defendants

A

Include commercial suppliers at all levels of the distribution chain and those in the market selling the product including:

  • Manufacturers
  • Wholesalers
  • Retailers
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19
Q

Strict Products Liability: Improper Defendants

A
  • Occasional or one-time sellers are not proper defendants for purposes of strict products liability because they are not in the position to further the goals of the tort – safer products and cost-spreading.
  • Providers of services are also not held strictly liable.
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20
Q

Strict Products Liability: Mixed Goods Services Situations

A

If defective goods are supplied along with services, strict liability is still not applicable so long as the goods supplied were merely “incidental” to rendition of the services.

  • Restaurants are frequently regarded as sellers of food subject to SL
  • Doctors, dentists, and blood banks are usually regarded as primarily providing services, therefore, they are not subject to strict liability
21
Q

Types of Product Defects

A

Include:

  • Manufacturing defect
  • Design defect
  • Marketing defect
22
Q

Manufacturing Defect

A

-A product manufactured in a form other than the manufacturer intended + defect existed when leaving the manufacturer’s hands. SL can be imposed on the manufacturer and everyone else.

23
Q

Design Defect

A

A product manufactured as the manufacturer intended, but still presents a danger of personal injury or property damage to P because of a flawed design.

24
Q

Tests for Determining If There Is a Design Defect

A

Include:

  • the consumer expectation test
  • the danger-utility test
  • the hindsight-negligence test
25
Q

Design Defect: Consumer Expectation Test

A

A product is in an unreasonably dangerous defective condition when a reasonably foreseeable purchaser would not have expected it to present the danger that resulted in the injury. Some jurisdictions expand this test to what a reasonable user would expect.

26
Q

Design Defect: Danger-Utility Test

A

A product is defective if a jury determines that the danger it threatens outweighs its utility to society. Products will be found defective if an alternative design could have reduced the danger at about the same cost.

27
Q

Important Qs for the Danger-Utility Test

A
  • How easy would it be to swap out the defective design for the alternatives
  • How high is the likelihood of harm?
  • How bad would the harm be if it happened?
  • How important/useful is the product?
28
Q

Design Defect: Hindsight-Negligence Test

A

A product is defective if a reasonable person, knowing of the danger it presented, would not have placed it in the stream of commerce. This test imposes constructive prior knowledge of defect on defendant whether or not it knew or reasonably could have known about it.

29
Q

Marketing Defect (Failure to Warn)

A

A product may be considered dangerously defective when it is accompanied by an inadequate warning. P must show that:

  • the D knew or reasonably should have known of a danger presented by the product and
  • the D failed to take precautions a reasonable person would have taken to warn adequately of that danger
30
Q

Marketing Defect: Obviously Dangerous Products

A

Certain products are regarded as so obviously dangerous that a warning is considered unnecessary (e.g. a sharp knife).

31
Q

Strict Products Liability: Cause-in-Fact

A

P should show that the injury was caused by the defect by proving that the defect was a substantial factor in bringing about his injury.

32
Q

Strict Products Liability: Proximate Cause (Foreseeable Intervening Forces)

A

Include negligent handling of a product by a third party

33
Q

Strict Products Liability: Proximate Causation (Superseding Forces)

A

A third party’s criminal or intentionally tortious conduct is regarded as an unforeseeable intervening force that supersedes a Ds wrongdoing unless the defect somehow increased the risk that a third party would engage in such conduct.

34
Q

Learned Intermediary Doctrine

A

If a manufacturer provides a warning to a doctor, the manufacturer can expect that the doctor will pass the warning on to the patient. if the doctor does not, the doctor is a superseding cause of the patient’s harm.

35
Q

Damages for Strict Products Liability

A
  • Recoverable when there is personal injury or property damage other than to the product itself. Consequential/subsequent economic losses are not enough.
  • If property damage is limited to the product itself –> the P only has a claim for breach of warranty
36
Q

Defenses to Strict Products Liability

A

Include:

  • Misuse
  • Alteration
  • Contributory negligence
  • Comparative negligence
37
Q

Defenses to Strict Products Liability: Misuse

A

If a P uses a product in a manner that is neither intended nor foreseeable, he has misused the product and it cannot be defective.

38
Q

Defenses to Strict Products Liability: Alteration

A

A manufacturer or seller may have their liability reduced for a product where the product is altered after leaving its hands (not available for design defects). But the alteration must occur between the time the product leaves the manufacturer’s control and the time of the Ps injury.

39
Q

Products Liability on a Negligence Theory

A

Are based on the same elements based in a general negligence action (duty, breach, causation, and damages).

40
Q

Products Liability on Negligence: Duty

A

A duty is owed to any foreseeable P. No K relationship is required.

41
Q

Products Liability on Negligence Theory: Breach

A

The duty is typically a reasonable person standard of care, and breach of the duty will be unreasonable conduct. P must establish that the specific D they are suing breached the duty of care in the chain of distribution.

42
Q

Products Liability on Negligence Theory: Important Factors For Determining if Duty was Breached

A

Include:

  • the nature of the product
  • the source of the product
  • the extent of information available to the D
43
Q

Products Liability on Negligence Theory: Causation & Defenses

A

The same principles for general negligence actions apply.

44
Q

Products Liability on a Warranty Theory

A

When liability arises from the fact that a product is not as represented. Includes express warranty and implied warranty

45
Q

Express Warranty

A

Where D makes a specific representation as to the quality/nature of the product that becomes a basis of the bargain. Any seller can with advertising, negotiations, or as a K provision.

46
Q

Implied Warranty (Implied Warranty of Merchantability)

A

Where a merchant deals in goods of a particular kind, the sale of such goods constitutes an implied warranty that those goods will be merchantable. In other words, there is a warranty that the goods are of average quality for goods of that kind and are generally fit for the purpose for which they are used.

47
Q

K Around Implied Warranties?

A

The implied warranty of merchantability can be disclaimed by K.

48
Q

Strict Liability for Defects in Residences

A

Most jurisdictions hold commercial sellers of mass-marketed new residences SL for defects in the homes (does not apply to occasional sellers

Torts (8 decks)

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