Products liability law

The development of products liability law has followed a path of incremental change based on case precedent and differing judicial assessments as to what makes good policy. It's constantly changing and can appear contradictory. ABA Fundamentals: Products Liability Law is a careful and comprehensive look through the often-tempestuous background of this body of law, demonstrating how each doctrine relates to the political, economic, and historical context in which the law operates. In 12 chapters, the book covers: The Five Elements of a Products Liability Case, Warranties, Misrepresentation, Negligence, The Restatements Debate, Manufacturing Defects, Design Defects, Marketing Defects or Failures to Warn, Causation, Affirmative Defenses, Role of Federal Law, Damages, The relative youth and malleability of products liability law means that particular cases are often determined less by strict legal technicalities and more by the manner in which a case is plausibly framed. There may be no national law of products liability, but proven techniques of legal reasoning carry weight everywhere. With this book, you can learn the techniques that help decide products liability cases. Book jacket.

• Chapter 1 The Five Elements of a Products Liability Case p. 1
• Introduction p. 1
• Relevant Areas of Law p. 2
• The Five Elements p. 3
• Product p. 3
• Products vs. Services p. 4
• Books, Maps, and Computer Software p. 4
• Components p. 5
• Economic Loss or Property Damage? p. 6
• Commercial Sale or Distribution p. 6
• Seller p. 6
• Merchant p. 7
• Question of Fact or Law p. 7
• Sellers of Used Products p. 7
• Defect p. 7
• Types of Defect p. 8
• Defect Broadly Defined p. 8
• Causation of Physical Harm p. 9
• Consequential Nonphysical Losses p. 9
• Pure Nonphysical Losses p. 10
• Compensable Victim p. 11
• Consumers p. 11
• Users p. 12
• Reasonably Foreseeable Third Parties p. 12
• Chapter 2 Warranties p. 15
• Pros and Cons of Contracts p. 15
• Limitation Periods p. 15
• Other Limitations p. 15
• Strict Liability p. 16
• Caveat Emptor p. 17
• Medieval Principle p. 17
• Uniform Commercial Code p. 17
• Express Warranties p. 18
• Puffery p. 18
• The Basis of the Bargain p. 19
• Breach of Express Warranty p. 20
• Implied Warranties p. 21
• Merchantability p. 22
• Fitness for Purpose p. 22
• Different Sellers p. 23
• Comparing Warranties p. 23
• Exclusions and Limitations p. 24
• Privity: Suing and Being Sued p. 25
• Vertical Privity p. 26
• Collateral Contract p. 27
• Horizontal Privity p. 28
• Chapter 3 Misrepresentation p. 33
• Circumventing Privity p. 33
• Types of Misrepresentation p. 34
• Nature of the Statement p. 34
• Type of Relationship p. 35
• Mere Puffery p. 36
• Silence p. 37
• Material Untrue Statement p. 41
• Causation of Harm: Reliance p. 42
• Substantial Factor p. 42
• Inferences p. 43
• Reasonable Reliance p. 43
• Types of Misrepresentation p. 44
• Fraudulent Misrepresentation p. 45
• Negligent Misrepresentation p. 46
• Innocent Misrepresentation p. 47
• Chapter 4 Negligence p. 49
• The Elements p. 49
• Duty of Care p. 49
• Requirement of Relationship p. 50
• Question of Law p. 50
• Standard and Breach p. 51
• Standard and Breach in Practice p. 51
• Negligence Per Se p. 52
• Causation of Harm p. 54
• Res Ipsa Loquitur p. 54
• Scope of Liability p. 55
• Type of Harm p. 55
• Intervening Cause p. 56
• Superseding Cause p. 57
• Comparing Three Actions p. 58
• Chapter 5 The Restatements Debate p. 61
• Strict Liability p. 61
• When Strict Liability Is Not Strict p. 62
• The Second Restatement p. 62
• The Third Restatement p. 63
• The Implications p. 64
• Truths Lost in the Controversy p. 65
• When the Sides Are Reversed p. 65
• Small vs. Big Businesses p. 66
• Format of the Next Chapters p. 67
• Chapter 6 Manufacturing Defects p. 69
• Food p. 69
• Contracts and Torts p. 69
• Two Problems p. 70
• Third Restatement p. 70
• Food and Manufacturing Defects p. 71
• What Is "Manufactured" Food? p. 71
• Two Competing Tests p. 72
• Foreign Object Test p. 72
• Consumer Expectations Test p. 73
• Practical Tips p. 73
• Other Products p. 74
• Strict Liability p. 75
• Second Restatement p. 76
• Defect at Time of Sale or Distribution p. 76
• Unreasonable Danger p. 76
• Consumer Expectations Test p. 77
• Third Restatement p. 77
• Centrality of Design p. 78
• Implications p. 78
• Which Test Favors Either Party? p. 78
• Discovery p. 79
• Failure to Adhere to Design p. 79
• Adherence to Design p. 79
• Manufacturing Tolerances p. 80
• Bug or Feature? p. 81
• Patent and Latent Defects p. 83
• Used Products p. 83
• Economic Loss "Rule" p. 84
• Businesses as Plaintiffs p. 85
• Damage to the Defective Product p. 86
• Chapter 7 Design Defects p. 89
• Second Restatement p. 89
• Consumer Expectations Test p. 89
• Consumer Expectations of Design p. 90
• Third Restatement p. 91
• Focus of Comparison p. 91
• Safer Alternative Design p. 92
• Reasonable Alternative Design p. 95
• Not Reasonably Safe p. 96
• Question of Law p. 96
• Roles of Judge and Jury p. 97
• Screening as a Matter of Law p. 98
• Consumer Expectations Test Revisited p. 99
• Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices p. 99
• Inherently Dangerous Products p. 100
• Expectations and Modifications p. 102
• Analogies with Warranties p. 102
• Design Modifications p. 102
• Non-Standard Usage p. 103
• State of the Art p. 104
• Subsequent Remedial Measures p. 104
• Different State Rules p. 105
• Exceptions p. 105
• Chapter 8 Marketing Defects, or Failures to Warn p. 107
• Personal Responsibility p. 107
• Obvious Dangers p. 107
• Duty to Warn p. 109
• When to Warn? p. 109
• The Misnomer of Strict Liability p. 110
• Outdated Terminology p. 110
• Differentiation from Negligence p. 111
• Warnings and Misrepresentation p. 112
• Reasonable Warnings p. 112
• Who Decides? p. 113
• What Is Reasonable? p. 114
• Safety Statutes and Regulations p. 116
• Medical Devices and Drugs p. 117
• The Public and the Individual p. 117
• The Insert p. 118
• Learned Intermediary p. 118
• Heeding a Warning p. 119
• Warnings and Design p. 120
• Warnings and Exclusions p. 121
• Role of Warnings and Instructions p. 121
• Role of Waivers and Disclaimers p. 121
• Post-Sale Duty to Warn p. 122
• Recalls and Retrofits p. 122
• Chapter 9 Causation p. 125
• Definitions p. 125
• General Causation p. 125
• Judge and Jury p. 126
• What Qualifies as Harm? p. 127
• Uncertainty and Probability p. 127
• Evidence of Causation p. 128
• Epidemiology p. 129
• Asbestos p. 130
• Specific Causation p. 131
• But-For Causation p. 131
• Substantial Factor Causation p. 132
• Contribution to the Risk p. 133
• Inferences p. 133
• Asbestos p. 133
• Latency and Medical Monitoring p. 134
• Joint and Several Liability p. 136
• Market Share Liability p. 136
• Elements p. 137
• Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories p. 137
• Expert Evidence p. 138
• Weight, Admissibility, and Discretion p. 138
• The Frye Standard p. 139
• The Daubert Standard p. 140
• Federal Rule of Evidence 702 p. 141
• The Daubert Controversy p. 143
• Standard of Appellate Review p. 144
• State Law p. 145
• Lay Evidence p. 145
• Chapter 10 Affirmative Defenses p. 147
• Limitations of Time p. 147
• Statutes of Limitations p. 147
• Statutes of Repose p. 149
• Overlap p. 150
• Constitutionality p. 150
• Contract-Based Defenses p. 152
• Waivers and Disclaimers p. 152
• Sovereign Immunity p. 153
• Government Contractors p. 153
• The Victim's Own Conduct p. 154
• Implied Assumption of Risk p. 155
• Contributory and Comparative Fault p. 157
• Comparative Fault as a Sword p. 160
• The "Empty Chair" Defense p. 160
• Chapter 11 Role of Federal Law p. 163
• Pre-Emption p. 163
• Constitutional Implications p. 163
• The Requirements for Pre-Emption p. 164
• Types of Pre-Emption p. 164
• Pre-Emption Trends p. 168
• Mass Torts Litigation p. 168
• Multi-District Litigation p. 169
• Class Actions p. 170
• Bankruptcy Protection p. 172
• Chapter 7 p. 172
• Chapter 11 p. 173
• Liability Insurance p. 175
• Chapter 12 Damages p. 179
• Types of Damages p. 179
• Nominal Damages p. 179
• Compensatory Damages p. 180
• Special Damages p. 180
• General Damages p. 180
• Plaintiff Strategy p. 181
• Apportionment p. 181
• The "American Rule" p. 182
• Pain and Suffering p. 183
• Additur and Remittitur p. 183
• The Vocabulary of "Tort Reform" p. 184
• Economic Loss p. 184
• Types of Economic Loss p. 185
• Damage to the Defective Product p. 185
• Market and Intrinsic Value p. 186
• Emotional Distress p. 187
• Collateral Source Rule p. 188
• Constitutionality p. 188
• Caps on Damages p. 189
• Punitive Damages p. 190
• Punishing What? p. 190
• The Multiplier p. 191
• RICO p. 192
• Prelude to Negotiation p. 192
• Index p. 195
• About the Author p. 203