Torts Flashcards
What is the standard for strict products liability?
To establish a prima facie case for strict products liability, the plaintiff must prove that:
(1) the defendant had an absolutely duty as a commercial seller of the product;
(2) that the defendant produced or sold a defective product;
(3) that the product was the actual and proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries; and (4) damages.
What is the duty element in strict products liability?
A defendant who is in the business of selling a commercial product, including manufacturers, distributors, and retail sellers, is under an absolute duty to provide a safe product.
What is the breach element in strict products liability?
A product is defective when, at the time of the sale or distribution, it contains a manufacturing defect, a design defect, or inadequate instructions or warnings (i.e., failure to warn) that make the product unreasonably dangerous.
What are the two theories of design defect in a strict products liability claim?
Under the consumer-expectation test, the plaintiff must prove that the product is dangerous beyond the expectation of an ordinary consumer.
Under the risk-utility test, the plaintiff must prove that a reasonable, economically feasible alternative design was available to the defendant and failure to use that design rendered the product unreasonably dangerous. This test balances the available alternatives and their cost against the risk to users and the value of injuries avoided.
What is required for proximate cause in a strict products liability claim?
To be the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injury, the injury must have occurred when the defective product was being used in an intended or reasonably foreseeable way.
