Strict Liability Torts Flashcards
Strict Liability Torts
Still show duty (in this case, absolute), cause, and damages
3 kinds
- Animals
a. Wild Animals
b. Domestic Animals - Abormanlly Dangerous Activities
- Products Liability
Strict Liability Torts
- Animals
a. Wild Animals
i. Strict liability if you see a tiger, lion, bobcat, etc
ii. Safety precautions are irrelevant. knowledge of the animal’s tendencies for violence is irrelevant.
iii. strict liability is not available to an undiscovered trespasser. (If a trespasser is on someone’s land, they can sue under a theory of negligence but not stick liability).
b. Domestic Animals
(including animals like horses, sheep, etc)
Multistate - There is NO strict liability. Show negligence. exception - if you know that the animal is dangerous (bitten someone before)
MI - strict liability for ALL dog bites if the person is legally allowed to be where he is (not a trespasser) unless the def can show there was “adequate provocation”
Strict Liability
- Abnormally Dangerous Activities
Definition - an abnormally dangerous activity is one that creates a foreseeable risk of serious harm even when reasonable care is exercised, and
the activity is not a matter of common usage in the community.
Key words - look for a nuclear power plant, explosives, dynamite, blasting, mining, etc.
Make sure the type of harm suffered is the type of harm that made the activity abnormally dangerous. example a truck full of explosives - if truck crashes and hits person no strict liability. if truck explodes and the person is hit then strict liability.
Strict Liability
- Products Liability
Beside Strict Liability - there are other causes of action for injuries caused by products (i) negligence (ii) breach of warranty (express or implied warranty)
STRICT LIABILITY
PPDF
STRICT LIABILITY - PPDF
- Proper Plaintiff
- Proper Defendant
- Product is Defective
- Plaintiff has to make Foreseeable Use of the product at the time of hte injury
STRICT LIABILITY - PPDF
- Proper Plaintiff
The plaintiff can be any consumer, user, or bystander who suffers an injury as a result of the product. There is no “privity” requriement for strict products liability.
STRICT LIABILITY - PPDF
- Proper Defendant
Defendant must be a merchant
someone who routinely deals in goods of this type. Casual sellers of goods are NOT merchant (selling books on amazon). Service providers that make product available incidental to service are not merchants (dentist puts tooth in patient)
NOTE - every party in the distribution chain is liable! The manufacturer, wholesaler, supplier, and retailer are all merchants and can be sued for product defect.
Remember - a retailer can be held liable even if it used all due care and even if there is no way it could have discovered the defect. This may seem unfair but the retailer can seek indeminity from his supplier, etc. all the way up the chain to the manufacturer.
STRICT LIABILITY - PPDF
- Product is Defective from the time it left the manufacturer’s hands
- This is presumed if it traveled through ordinary channels of distribution
- Kinds of defects
(a) manufacturing defect
The product comes out in a condition that was not intended by the manufacurer and it is more dangerous than expected.
Note - Safety precautions are irrelevant
The one in a million harm
(b) design defect
The product came out exactly as the manufacturer intended. However, there is an alternative design that is
- safer
- practical, and
- cost-effective
other factors will also be examined like how obvious the danger is, how avoidable it is, how likely injury is to result.
moving case tank from back to center of car.
STRICT LIABILITY - PPDF
- Product is Defective from the time it left the manufacturer’s hands
GOVERNMENT STANDARD
A product is deemed to be defective if it fails to comply with government regulations. However, if it does comply with government regulationss, the compliance is evidence (but not conclusive proof) that the product is defective.
STRICT LIABILITY - PPDF
- Product is Defective from the time it left the manufacturer’s hands
ABSENCE OF WARNING OR INSTRUCTION
A type of DESIGN DEFECT
- Case where there is no warning: If there is a hidden risk, there should be a warning. If the risk is “obvious” then no warning is necessary
- Case where there is a warning: Examine the size of the warning, the color, the languages, whether there are pictures, etc. to see if it is adequate.
- What products are generally not considered defective?
(a) unavoidable dangerous products (a sharp knife, vaccines, drugs)
(b) unknowingly dangerous products (there was no way the manufacturer could have known about the danger at the time of production - e.g. drug with unforseen sideaffects).
STRICT LIABILITY - PPDF
- Plaintiff has to make foreseeable use of the product at the time of the injury
It can be a foreseeable misuse (using a screwdriver to open a lid).
REMEBER for strict liability the focus is on the product (NOT the def’s actions)
STRICT LIABILITY - PPDF
MICHIGAN Differences
- A non-manufacturer (e.g. retail store) will not be strictly liable. They can only be liable on a negligence or warranty theory.
- Similar to multistate, there is a presumption that if a product conformed to government safety standards, it is not defective. However, unlike multistate, if product doesnt conform there is not a presumption that the product is defective.
Affirmative Defenses to Strict Liability
The defendant can use the same as defenses used in negligence
- comparative fault, etc
- can be used as a defense
- The jury can reduce damages if the plaintiff was partly at fault
