NEGLIGENCE PRODUCTS LIABILITY

Question 1

Negligence Products Liability: Duty of Care

Answer 1

Commercial suppliers have duty of care to avoid placing dangerous defective products into the stream of commerce; duty flows to any person the defective product might foreseeably injured

Question 2

Negligence Products Liability: Breach

Answer 2

Manufacturer Breach:
(i) failure to use reasonable care in manufacturing/handling products (often invoked for manufacturing defects)

(ii) failure to implement reasonable care in implementing testing procedures to discover defects (often invoked for design, informational defects)

Intermediate Seller (wholesale, retail, distro) Breach: seldom found liable on a negligence theory in products liability –> If the intermediate seller does know or have reason to know of the defect, then the seller has a duty to use reasonable care to avert any foreseeable harm.

Question 3

Negligence Products Liability: Causation

Question 4

Negligence Products Liability
- MANUFACTURER LIABILITY: Proving Breach (Manufacturing Defect)

Answer 4

Fact finder can infer breach of duty if:
(1) injury is the type that would typically result only from negligent manufacturing
(2) product was in manufacturer’s control when defect came about OR no substantial change in products condition between time left manufacturer control and injury
(3) more likely than not that actor’s negligence, not something else, caused injury (e.g., victim’s own negligence)

RES IPSA LOQUITOR

Question 5

Negligence Products Liability
- MANUFACTURER LIABILITY: Proving Breach (Informational + Design Defects)

Answer 5

Breach can be proven by showing:
(1) product was defective when it left manufacturer control
(2) manufacturer knew or had reason to know of the defect when product left its control
(3) manufacturer failed to use reasonable care to make product safe or provide warnings

Question 6

Negligence Products Liability
- INTERMEDIATE LIABILITY:

Answer 6

Seldom found liable in products liability under negligence theory - why?
(i) if intermediate seller has no knowledge or reason to know of the defect, cannot take steps to make it safe
(ii) if intermediate seller DOES know or have reason to know that product is defective, has duty to use reasonable care to avert foreseeable harm

Question 7

Negligence Products Liability: Causation

Answer 7

If intermediate seller knowingly sells defective product –> COULD be a superseding cause that defeats proximate causation IF manufacturer could NOT foresee seller’s knowing sale of defective product

If victim misuses product in an unforeseeable manner, could be superseding cause as to BOTH manufacturer and intermediate sellers