Strict Liability & Products Liability Flashcards
In strict liability, defendant is liable:
for injuring plaintiff whether or not defendant exercised due care.
Defendant may be held strictly liable as to:
possession of animals and abnormally dangerous activities
A judge determines whether an activity is abnormally dangerous by considering if:
1) the activity creates a risk of serious injury as to plaintiff, his land, or his chattel;
2) this risk cannot be eliminated by the exercise of due care; and
3) the activity is not usually conducted in that area.
Examples of abnormally dangerous activities:
Crop dusting, dynamiting, and exterminating
Can defendant raise a defense of contributory negligence if strict liability is applicable?
No.
In some states that have adopted comparative fault the plaintiff’s recover will be reduced if P’s negligence contributed to her own injuries.
When might a plaintiff be completely barred from recovery in a strict liability situation?
If plaintiff knew of and appreciated the danger justifying imposition of strict liability and voluntarily exposes himself to such danger.
Strict products liability is invoked when:
a defective product, for which an appropriate defendant is responsible, injures an appropriate plaintiff.
Proper plaintiff in product liability suit:
Any plaintiff injured while using a defective product
Includes: purchasers and consumers, their families, friends, guests and employees
Modern trend will extend proper plaintiff to bystanders and rescuers
Proper defendant in product liability suit:
1) Person who assembles component parts into a finished product is strictly liable for defects in components used
2) Manufacturer of the component part (unless the assembler put the component to a use for which it was not suited - but the exception to this exception is if the component manufacturer knew or should have known that his component was being misused).
3) Retailers and commercial lessors are subject to strict liability for defects in new goods that they sell or lease.
When a product is in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous:
almost all jurisdictions impose strict liability
Defense for Strict Products Liability - Misuse:
When plaintiff uses a product in a manner that is neither intended nor foreseeable, she has misused the product and it cannot be defective.
Defense for Strict Products Liability - Comparative Negligence
Some JX have adopted a comparative negligence system that applies to strict liability.
Product liability on a negligence theory:
Same elements as part of a general negligence claim: Duty, Breach of duty, Causation, Damages
Products liability on a warranty theory:
Liability arises from the fact that a product is not as represented.
Plaintiff must establish that a warranty existed as to the product and that the product does not conform to the warranty.
