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Should A "Process Defense" Be Recognized In Product Design Cases?, James A. Henderson Jr.
Should A "Process Defense" Be Recognized In Product Design Cases?, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
Professor Henderson, addressing the suggestion that the focus in product design liability cases should be on the process by which design decisions are made rather than on the reasonableness of a particular design, analyzes a proposal that manufacturers be able to present evidence of good process as a defense. Although he applauds the attempt to resolve the difficulties of deciding product design cases, he questions the soundness of the process approach. Specifically, he argues that a process defense would be unworkable because judges would be unable to tell good process from bad, and that the proposal does not address polycentricity--the …