Strict Liability and Products Liability

Question 1

Strict Liability: Application

Answer 1

• Abnormally Dangerous Activities

-Animals (both wild and domesticated, sometimes

Question 2

Strict Liability: Abnormally Dangerous Activities

Answer 2

-Look to Severity, location, and risk to discern if it is abnormally dangerous

• The harm has to flow from the risk

Question 3

Strict Liability: Wild Animals

Answer 3

• Liable for harm from dangerous propensities
• No liability to trespassers, just invitees/licensees

Question 4

Strict Liability: Domesticated Animals

Answer 4

• Dog Bites are usually strict liability
• Known Dangerous Domestic Animals (If Owners Know it is dangerous)

Question 5

Strict Liability: Trespassing Animals

Answer 5

• Liable for reasonable damages to others land

-unless the animal was a household pet and the owner did not know it was out

Question 6

Strict Liability: Defenses

Answer 6

• Contributory Negligence: Doesn’t work

-Comparative Negligence: Depends on jurisdiction

-Assumption of Risk: Bars Strict Liability

Question 7

Products Liability: Application

Answer 7

Three types of Products Liability

-Normal Negligence
-Strict Products Liability
-Breach of Warranty

Question 8

Products Liability: Strict Liability Elements

Answer 8

Must show

• The product was defective
• the defect existed when it left the D’s control
• P was injured by the defect when using product reasonably

Question 9

Products Liability: Types of Strict Liability

Answer 9

• Manufacturing Defect (defective compared to design/specs)
• Design Defect (consumer expectations test: was it less safe than an ordinary person would expect, Risk Utility Test: Was it a reasonable design and did the risk outweigh the benefits?)

-Failure to Warn (was there a foreseeable risk that was not obvious to the user, and the manufacturer did not take steps to warn)

Question 10

Products Liability: Who is liable under strict liability ?

Answer 10

Any one in the chain of business is liable so long as they were (1) a merchant and (2) the defect existed when they had the thing

Question 11

Products Liability: Damages for Strict Liability

Answer 11

Damages for PI or Property; no purely economic damages

Question 12

Products Liability: Defenses to Strict Liability

Answer 12

-Contributory Negligence: Courts Hesitate to apply

-Comparative Negligence: reduces recovery amount

-Assumption of risk

-Substnatial Change in Product: Is a defense, but a seller is still liable for reasonably foreseeable modifications and different uses

• Compliance with governmental standards: Admissive but not dispositive

-State of the art: if it is the best twe can do, can bar recovery

-waivers: Does not work

Question 13

Products Liability: Warranty Types

Answer 13

• Express Warranty: A fact affirmation or promise that is the basis of the bargain

-IWM: Implied warranty that the good is suitable for the ordinary purpose for which it is sold

-IWFPP: Implied warranty that the good is good for the specific purpose when the seller is relying on the sellers expertise for a specific purpose and the seller knows this

Question 14

Products Liability: Waivers Defenses

Answer 14

• Same as in Contracts (i.e. Conspicuous writing, Oral with Mechantiability, buyer chance to inspect, etc.)

-tort defenses: Contrib./Compar. Neg., Assumption of Risk, Misuse of product