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Principles of Products Liability
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Principles of Products Liability

Krauss, Michael I.
ISBN-10: 0314180397
ISBN-13: 9780314180391

Our Price: $34.87
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Products liability is perhaps the most contested and confused area of American private law. It affects every American who purchases or uses any product. It is the object of late-night talk show jokes and politicians' stump speeches. Yet, like many subjects discussed by politicians and TV stars, products liability is more subtle and multi-layered than they make it appear.
This concise hornbook is designed to unpack these subtleties and allow the reader to understand current American products liability doctrine and to intelligently participate in debates about proposed reforms.
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Preface
Introduction
History and Basic Structure of Products Liability Law
Julian Felipe's Case
From Old to New: A Primer on the Rise of Products Liability
Introduction
Seminal Early Cases
Winterbottom v. Wright
Thomas v. Winchester
MacPherson v. Buick
Eliminating Privity: From Implied Warranty to Strict Liability
Implied Warranty and Tort Liability
The Road to Strict Liability
How "Strict" Is Strict Liability?
Threshold Issues for Modern Products Liability
What Is the "Sale of a Product?"
Safety v. Insurance: Justice Traynor's Reasons for Enacting Strict Liability
"Non-Strict" Theories of Products Liability
Negligence
Salient Characteristics of a Negligence Suit
Tortious Misrepresentation
Types of Misrepresentation Suites
Breach of Warranty
Express Warranty
Implied Warranty of Merchantability
Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose
Analysis of Products Liability Law
"Strict" Liability: Who May Sue Whom?
Who is Strictly Liable?
Component Manufacturers
Downstream Sellers
Service Providers
Owners of Subsidiaries; Successor Corporations
Lessors
Franchisors and Trademark Licensors
Sellers of Used Products
Certifiers and Endorsers
Workplace Accidents and Products Liability
Who Can Sue?
The Plaintiff's Case: Strict Liability for Manufacturing Defects
Introduction
Negligence or Strict Liability?
Breakdowns v. Defects v. Negligence
Why Must the Defective Product Be "Unreasonably Dangerous?"
Special Case: Food and Drink and the "Foreign-Natural" Debate
The Plaintiff's Case: Strict Liability for Design Defects
Introduction
Tests for Design Defect
Negligence
The Consumer Expectations Test
The Risk-Utility Test
Two-Pronged Standards
The Restatement (Third)'s Design Defect Test
Proof of Design Defect
Special Case: Automobiles
The Plaintiff's Case: Strict Liability for Informational Defects
Introduction
Negligence or Strict Liability?
The Never-Before-Seen, Yet Conceivable Risk
The Warned-Of but Allegedly Underemphasized Risk
Obvious but Infinitesimal Risks
The How, Who and When of Warnings
How
Who
The How, Who and When of Warnings-Continued
When
Special Case: Prescription Drugs
General Principles
The Impact of Mass Marketing of Prescription Drugs
National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act ("NCVIA")
The Plaintiff's Case: Causation
Introduction
Cause in Fact (Necessary Condition)
Whodunit?
Why did it Happen?
When did the Defect get Introduced?
"Substantial Factor" Cause-in-fact
Proximate Causation
Introduction
Product Danger X, Harm Y
Superseding ("Intervening") Causes
The Defendant's Case: Affirmative Defenses to Defectiveness Claims
Introduction
The Injured User (or Her Employer) Chose to Use the Product in a Dangerous Way
The Product Was Misused
The Product Was Obviously Dangerous
The Product Was Inherently Dangerous
The Product Was Altered
The Product Was "Made to Order"
Too Much Time Has Passed to Hold Defendant Liable
The Product's Useful Life had Expired
The Harm was Intergenerational (Not Caused to the User)
The Legislature has said it's too Late to Sue
"State of the Art" Defense (The Product was as Safe as it could be)
General Comments
"State of the Art" and Informational Defects
"State of the Art" and Design Defect
"State of the Art" and Post-Sale Duties
Regulatory Preemption Defense (The Product Was as Safe as the Government Said it had to be)
The Problem
The Supreme Court's "Solution"
The Standards Defense (Our Product was as Safe as Our Competitors' Product)
The Defendant's Case: Causation and Other Peoples' Behavior
Introduction
Contributory Negligence
Comparative Negligence
General Remarks
Complicating Factor: Multiple Defendants
Assumption of Risk
"Last Clear Chance"
The Defendant's Case: Other Affirmative Defenses
"I Made It, But Someone Else Designed it."
Contracts Specification Defense
Government Contractor Defense
"It Wouldn't have made a Differences if I had Warned you."
Plaintiff did not Read the (Allegedly Inadequate) Warning that was Given, and therefore would not have Read the Warning she Claims should have been given
A Third Party Warned the Victim, So the Lack of Warning on the Product was of no Consequence
A Learned Intermediary Knew of the Risk, Despite the Lack of Warning, and the Intermediary Failed to Warn the Victim; or the Intermediary Ignored the Inadequate Warning and would have Ignored an Adequate One
The Circumstances of the Injury make it Virtually Impossible that a Warning, had it been given, would have been Heeded
"We Agreed I wouldn't be Liable for this."
"You're Paid to Face these Dangers."
Damages
Introduction: Additional Facts About Julian Felipe's Case
Compensatory Damages for Personal Injury and Death
Wage Loss
Pain and Suffering
Fear of Future Injury and Medical Monitoring
Wrongful death
Other Compensatory Damages
Economic Damage to Tangible Property (Other than to the Product Itself)
"Pure" Economic Loss
Other Compensatory Damages-Continued
Additional Compensatory Damages in Case of Alleged Fraud
Punitive Damages
Special Situations and Proposed Alternatives to Products Liability Law
Special Types of Product Litigation: Toxic Substances and Class Actions
Introduction
Judicial Administration of Toxic Products Cases
Causation Problems in Toxic Products Cases
Plaintiff's Behavior as a Contributing Cause to Toxic Products Liability
Damages Issues in Toxic Products Claims
Potential but Unrealized Disease
Property Damage and Loss of Profits
Punitive Damages
Alternative Approaches to Ensuring Product Safety
Introduction
Replacing Products Liability with Contract
Libertarian Abolition of Products Liability
Free Choice of State Law
Replacing State Products Liability Law with a National Law
Federal Legislation
Uniform State Laws of Product Liability
Federal Common Law
International Approaches to Products Liability Law
Replacing Products Liability with Social Insurance
Table of Cases
Index

List price: $48.00
Edition: N/A
Publisher: West
Binding: N/A
Pages: 310
Size: 6.50" wide x 9.50" long x 0.50" tall
Weight: 0.99 lbs.
Language: English

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