Download Strict & Product Liability: Dangerous Activities & Defective Products - Prof. Richard E. M and more Study notes Business and Labour Law in PDF only on Docsity! Patterson 1 Exam #2 Notes Chapter Thirteen Introduction o Strict Liability or liability without fault –Liability regardless of fault. In tort law, strict liability may be imposed on defendants in cases involving abnormally dangerous activities, dangerous animals, or defective products. o A person who engages in certain activities can be held responsible for any harm that results to others even if the person used the utmost care. o Product Liability – The legal liability of manufacturers, sellers, and lessors of goods to consumers, users, and bystanders for injuries or damages that are caused by the goods. o Liability incurred when product defects cause injury or property damage to consumers, users, or bystanders (people in the vicinity of the product) Strict Liability o Rylands v. Fletcher – (1868 English Case) a person who for his own purposes brings on his land and collects and keeps there anything likely to do mischief if it escapes…is prima facie (on initial examination) answerable for all the damage which is the natural consequence of its escape. Abnormally Dangerous Activities o Courts apply the doctrine of strict liability in these situations because of the extreme risk of the activity. o Abnormally Dangerous Activities – those that involve a high risk of serious harm to persons or property that cannot be completely guarded against by the exercise of reasonable care (Example: blasting or storing explosives) Other Applications of Strict Liability o Persons who keep wild animals are strictly liable for any harm inflicted by the animals. o Product Liability o The manufacturing company can better bear the cost of injury because it can spread the cost throughout society by increasing prices of goods o The manufacturing company is making a profit from its activities and therefore should bear the cost of injury as an operating expense Patterson 2 Product Liability o Because one particular product may cause harm to a number of consumers, product liability actions are sometimes filed by a group of plaintiffs acting together. o May be based on the theories of negligence, misrepresentation, and strict liability. Product Liability Based on Negligence o Negligence – The failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances. o If a manufacturer fails to exercise “due care” to make a product safe, a person who is injured by the product may sue the manufacturer for negligence. o Due Care Must be Exercised – designing, selecting and testing materials, using the appropriate production process, assembling and testing the product, placing warnings and labels on the product, inspecting and testing any purchased component o Privity of Contract Not Required o Privity of Contract – The relationship that exists between the promisor and the promise of a contract. o I.E. the plaintiff and the defendant need not be directly involved in a contractual relationship; thus, any person who is injured by a product may bring a negligence suit even though he or she was not the one who actually purchased the product. Product Liability Based on Misrepresentation o Tort of Fraud – the misrepresentation must have been made knowingly or with reckless disregard for the facts o The misrepresentation must be of a material fact, and the seller must have had the intent to induce the buyer’s reliance on the misrepresentation. AND the buyer must have relied on the misrepresentation. Strict Product Liability o The injured party does not have to be the buyer or a third party beneficiary. Strict Product Liability and Public Policy o The law imposes strict product liability as a matter of public policy o Consumers should be protected against unsafe products o Manufacturers and distributors should not escape liability for faulty products simply because they are not in privity of contract with the ultimate user of those products
