Chapter 13 STRICT LIABILITY PRODUCT LIABILITY I Strict Liability a Strict Liability when a person is legally liable for damages caused by his acts or omissions regardless of fault applies to b Abnormally dangerous activities those that involve high risk of serious harm to persons property that cannot be completely guarded against i Blasting ii Storing explosives hazardous material c Keeping wild animals d Product Liability liability of manufacturers and sellers for harmful or defective products based on 2 factors i Manufacturer can better bear the cost of injury by increasing the price of goods ii Manufacturer is making a profit from its activities so should bear the cost of injury as an operating expense II Product Liability a Product Liability those who make sell or lease goods can be held liable for physical harm property damage caused by the goods to a consumer user or bystander b Based on Negligence Manufacturer must exercise due care in i Design ii Material selection iii Production process iv Testing and assembling the product v Inspection of any purchased component parts vi Placement of warning label c No requirement that person injured by a product be the buyer or a third party beneficiary d Based on Misrepresentation if a user consumer is injured by a product due to the manufacturer seller s fraud ex Intention mislabeling of a package III Strict Product Liability a Strict Product Liability the result of public policy that consumers should be protected against unsafe products b Irrelevant whether act was intentional or whether there was a failure to exercise due care c In an action for strict liability liability can be nearly unlimited if i Product was in defective condition when defendant sold it 1 Manufacturing defects the product departs from its intended design resulting in a product that is flawed damaged or incorrectly assembled 2 Design defect the product is made in conformity with the design but the design was faulty plaintiff claiming design defect must prove a A reasonable alternative design was available b The defendant s failure to adopt the alternative design made the product unsafe 3 Inadequate warning also renders product defective when foreseeable risks of harm could have been reduced avoided if there had been reasonable instructions or warnings a Johnson v Medtronic Inc b Seller must warn about foreseeable misuses c There is no duty to warn about obvious risks ii Defendant is normally engaged in business or selling distributing the product iii Product is unreasonably dangerous to user consumer because of defective state iv Plaintiff must incur physical harm to self or property by use or consumption of product v Defective condition is proximate cause of injury vi Product was not substantially changed from time it was sold to the time the injury was sustained d To prove a defective condition the plaintiff must show that the product was defective when it left the seller s hands and that the defective condition made the product unreasonably dangerous i The product was dangerous beyond the expectations of the ordinary consumer or ii A less dangerous alternative was economically feasible for the manufacturer but the manufacturer failed to produce it e Market Share Liability a plaintiff may attempt to establish a case against a group of product manufacturers for an injury caused by a product even when the plaintiff does not know from which defendant the product originated f Strict Product Liability also applies to injured bystanders and suppliers of component parts IV Defenses to Product Liability a Preemption government regulations preempt claims for product liability b Assumption of risk defendant must show that i Plaintiff knew of and appreciated risk created by product defect ii Plaintiff voluntarily assumed risk c Product misuse except in situations where a particular misuse is reasonably foreseeable d Comparative Fault a defendant may be able to limit some or all liability if it can show that the plaintiff s misuse of the product contributed to the injuries e Commonly Known Dangers f Knowledgeable User g Statutes of Limitations Repose