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- Restatement (Third) of Torts Products Liability (10)
- Consumer expectations test (9)
- RAD (9)
- Reasonable alternative design (8)
- Strict liability (6)
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- Design defect (5)
- Design defects (5)
- Manufacturers' liability (5)
- Defective product designs (4)
- Failure to warn (4)
- Manufacturing defects (4)
- Risk-utility test (4)
- Section 402A (4)
- Enterprise liability (3)
- Failure-to-warn (3)
- Judicial decisionmaking (3)
- Manufacturing defect (3)
- Products Liability Restatement (3)
- Risk-utility balancing (3)
- ALI (2)
- American Law Institute (2)
- Defective product design (2)
- Defective products (2)
- Negligence (2)
- Prescription drug designs (2)
- Prescription drugs (2)
- Product design litigation (2)
- Restatement (Second) of Torts (2)
- Restatement (Third) of Torts (2)
- Risk-utility standard (2)
Articles 1 - 29 of 29
Full-Text Articles in Torts
Fixing Failure To Warn, Aaron D. Twerski, James A. Henderson Jr.
Fixing Failure To Warn, Aaron D. Twerski, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
Design-defect and failure-to-warn cases share the same structural elements. Just as the defendant cannot defend a case premised on defective design without knowing the specifics of how the plaintiff would redesign the product to make it safer, so with regard to defective warnings the plaintiff cannot challenge the reasonableness of the defendant's marketing or whether better warnings would have saved the plaintiff from injury without knowing the specifics of the proposed warnings. No court would accept as adequate a statement by the plaintiff that she has a general idea for a reasonable alternative design (RAD), and no court should accept …
A Fictional Tale Of Unintended Consequences: A Response To Professor Wertheimer, Aaron Twerski, James A. Henderson Jr.
A Fictional Tale Of Unintended Consequences: A Response To Professor Wertheimer, Aaron Twerski, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
The Expectations Of Consumers, Douglas A. Kysar
The Expectations Of Consumers, Douglas A. Kysar
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
In the few years following promulgation of the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability, several courts have reaffirmed their allegiance to the consumer expectations test for product design defect liability, while rejecting the Restatement's contrary recommendation to adopt a design defect test that focuses primarily on technical features regarding the risk and utility of alternative product designs. In this Article, Professor Kysar reviews the post-Third Restatement decisions, identifying within them a common failure to articulate a coherent, independent doctrinal role for the consumer expectations test, despite the courts' clearly expressed desire to do so. In Kysar's view, courts adhering to …
Consumer Expectations' Last Hope: A Response To Professor Kysar, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Consumer Expectations' Last Hope: A Response To Professor Kysar, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
The authors agree with Professor Kysar that the current version of the consumer expectations test for design defectiveness is an amorphous, unprincipled misreading of section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. And they agree that most courts apply risk-utility balancing in determining design defectiveness. But they disagree with Kysar's proposal to supplement risk-utility balancing with a reinvigorated consumer expectations test based on expert testimony regarding what consumers actually expect in the way of design safety. Judicial reliance on such testimony would be susceptible to result-oriented manipulation by litigants, would not guide manufacturers in making sensible design choices, would pressure …
Ethics Of Enterprise Liability In Product Design And Marketing Litigation, James A. Henderson Jr.
Ethics Of Enterprise Liability In Product Design And Marketing Litigation, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
American courts talk as though they are imposing strict enterprise liability on product manufacturers, but in truth they do so only with respect to manufacturing defects. In product design and marketing litigation, manufacturers' liability is based on fault. The reason why strict liability is inappropriate for the generic product hazards associated with design and marketing is that, in sharp contrast to manufacturing defects, the conditions necessary for insurance to function are not satisfied. Users and consumers control generic product risks to a sufficiently great extent that any insurance scheme based on strict enterprise liability would be destroyed by combinations of …
Drug Designs Are Different, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Drug Designs Are Different, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Product-Related Risk And Cognitive Biases: The Shortcomings Of Enterprise Liability, James A. Henderson Jr., Jeffrey J. Rachlinski
Product-Related Risk And Cognitive Biases: The Shortcomings Of Enterprise Liability, James A. Henderson Jr., Jeffrey J. Rachlinski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
Products liability law has witnessed a long debate over whether manufacturers should be held strictly liable for the injuries that products cause. Recently, some have argued that psychological research on human judgment supports adopting a regime of strict enterprise liability for injuries caused by product design. These new proponents of enterprise liability argue that the current system, in which manufacturer liability for product design turns on the manufacturer's negligence, allows manufacturers to induce consumers into undertaking inefficiently dangerous levels or types of consumption. In this paper we argue that the new proponents of enterprise liability have: (1) not provided any …
Intuition And Technology In Product Design Litigation: An Essay On Proximate Causation, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Intuition And Technology In Product Design Litigation: An Essay On Proximate Causation, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
The Products Liability Restatement In The Courts: An Initial Assessment, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
The Products Liability Restatement In The Courts: An Initial Assessment, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Product Design Liability In Orgeon And The New Restatement, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Product Design Liability In Orgeon And The New Restatement, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
What Europe, Japan, And Other Countries Can Learn From The New American Restatement Of Products Liability, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
What Europe, Japan, And Other Countries Can Learn From The New American Restatement Of Products Liability, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Achieving Consensus On Defective Product Design, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Achieving Consensus On Defective Product Design, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
The Politics Of The Products Liability Restatement, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
The Politics Of The Products Liability Restatement, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
A Discussion And A Defense Of The Restatement (Third) Of Torts: Products Liability, James A. Henderson Jr.
A Discussion And A Defense Of The Restatement (Third) Of Torts: Products Liability, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Arriving At Reasonable Alternative Design: The Reporters' Travelogue, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Arriving At Reasonable Alternative Design: The Reporters' Travelogue, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
Substantial commentary and controversy have been generated by the requirement in the new Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability that plaintiffs in most (but not all) cases involving claims of defective product design show that a reasonable alternative design was available and that failure to adopt the alternative rendered the defendant's design not reasonably safe. Henderson and Twerski explain the origins of that requirement and show that it is not only the majority position but also comports with widely shared views regarding the proper objectives of our liability system. Although consumer expectations cannot serve as a workable, stand-alone test for …
Prescription Drug Design Liability Under The Proposed Restatement (Third) Of Torts: A Reporter's Perspective, James A. Henderson Jr.
Prescription Drug Design Liability Under The Proposed Restatement (Third) Of Torts: A Reporter's Perspective, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Will A New Restatement Help Settle Troubled Waters: Reflections, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Will A New Restatement Help Settle Troubled Waters: Reflections, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
The Unworkability Of Court-Made Enterprise Liability: A Reply To Geistfeld, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
The Unworkability Of Court-Made Enterprise Liability: A Reply To Geistfeld, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
A Proposed Revision Of Section 402a Of The Restatement (Second) Of Torts, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
A Proposed Revision Of Section 402a Of The Restatement (Second) Of Torts, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Stargazing: The Future Of American Products Liability Law, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Stargazing: The Future Of American Products Liability Law, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Closing The American Products Liability Frontier: The Rejection Of Liability Without Defect, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Closing The American Products Liability Frontier: The Rejection Of Liability Without Defect, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
For over one hundred years American courts expanded the rights of plaintiffs in products liability cases. First the courts eliminated the privity requirement, next the necessity of proving fault, and finally, the necessity of proving a production defect. The next logical step in this progression would be to eliminate the need to show any type of defect at all. In this Article, Professors Henderson and Twerski assert that this step cannot and will not be taken. They explore both the possibility of across-the-board liability without defect and the more limited idea of product-category liability without defect. They describe how a …
Process Norms In Products Litigation: Liability For Allergic Reactions, James A. Henderson Jr.
Process Norms In Products Litigation: Liability For Allergic Reactions, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Doctrinal Collapse In Products Liability: The Empty Shell Of Failure To Warn, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Doctrinal Collapse In Products Liability: The Empty Shell Of Failure To Warn, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
Liability for a manufacturer's failure to warn of product-related risks is a well-established feature of modern products liability law. Yet many serious doctrinal and conceptual problems underlie these claims. Professors Henderson and Twerski explore these problems and argue that failure-to-warn jurisprudence is confused, perhaps irreparably, and that this confusion often results in the imposition of excessive liability on manufacturers. The authors begin by exposing basic errors resulting from courts' confusion over whether to apply a strict liability or a negligence standard of care in failure-to-warn cases. Having determined that negligence is the appropriate standard, they then examine more substantial and …
Product Liability And The Passage Of Time: The Imprisonment Of Corporate Rationality, James A. Henderson Jr.
Product Liability And The Passage Of Time: The Imprisonment Of Corporate Rationality, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
In theory, the product liability system should induce manufacturers to invest in product safety at the socially optimal level, i.e., the level at which the marginal cost of the investment equals the marginal cost of product-related accidents thereby avoided. In reality, however, this inducement may be weakened by countervailing incentives, causing manufacturers in marginal cases to forgo investment that would appear to be cost-effective. Professor Henderson argues that in these cases corporate rationality has been "imprisoned" by two "real-world" phenomena. First, a manufacturer may postpone product improvements lest they be viewed by potential claimants and juries as a confession of …
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 …
Coping With The Time Dimension In Products Liability, James A. Henderson Jr.
Coping With The Time Dimension In Products Liability, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Extending The Boundaries Of Strict Products Liability: Implications Of The Theory Of The Second Best, James A. Henderson Jr.
Extending The Boundaries Of Strict Products Liability: Implications Of The Theory Of The Second Best, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Design Defect Litigation Revisited, James A. Henderson Jr.
Design Defect Litigation Revisited, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Judicial Review Of Manufacturers' Conscious Design Choices: The Limits Of Adjudication, James A. Henderson Jr.
Judicial Review Of Manufacturers' Conscious Design Choices: The Limits Of Adjudication, James A. Henderson Jr.
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.