Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

Heirs Of Leonardo: Cultural Obstacles To Strict Products Liability In Italy, Anita Bernstein, Paul Fanning

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Professor Bernstein and Mr. Fanning argue that strict products liability, a legal rule recently adopted in the European Union, clashes with the culture of one of its large Member States, Italy. Using a wide array of source material--history, political sociology, literature, and numerous interviews--the authors begin with Italian traditions, exploring their implications for legal change. Strict products liability conflicts with these traditions. The doctrine is collectivist, tending to regard individuals in terms of group membership. Italians reject this aggregation, and affirm the singularity of a product design. The authors conclude that the EU attempt to harmonize its …

Rescuing The Revolution: The Revived Case For Enterprise Liability, Steven P. Croley, Jon D. Hanson

Michigan Law Review

The article proceeds as follows. Part I defines important terms and introduces the two-by-four Products Liability Matrix by explaining the eight possible positions that might be taken with respect to the mutability and liability-standard dimensions of products liability. Part II provides a backdrop for the current products liability debate, first by setting out a capsule history of the evolution of the modem products liability regime, and then by explaining the arguments offered by the "first generation" of products liability scholars to justify expanded manufacturer liability. Part II also illustrates the utility of the Products Liability Matrix by locating many of …

Dangerous Products And Injured Bystanders, Robert F. Cochran Jr.

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Caveat Emptor: Will The A.L.I. Erode Strict Liability In The Restatement (Third) For Products Liability?, John F. Vargo

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reforming Products Liability, Suzanne M. Lambert

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Reforming Products Liability by W. Kip Viscusi

The Dimensions Of The Product Liability Crisis, W. Kip Viscusi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Examination of a variety of sources of statistics indicates that the product liability crisis is real, and it is not simply imagined or contrived by the insurance industry. Litigation in the product liability area has escalated dramatically, but to some extent the industry was able to mute the effect of this escalation because of the influence of rising interest rates in the early 1980s as well as because the shrinking market for product liability insurance masked much of the explosion that was occurring in terms of the costs of product liability coverage. The dominant pattern in the early 1980s was …

Wading Through The Muddle Of Risk-Utility Analysis, W. Kip Viscusi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The original emphasis of risk-utility analysis on the need for balanced decisions with respect to product liability is a correct and fundamental principle. Moreover, many traditional factors that have been considered are legitimate, but they did not provide a framework for comprehensive and consistent risk-utility judgments. The development in this Article of a series of economic formulations of the risk-utility test is intended to establish a sounder basis for a products liability defect doctrine.

The Warranty Of Quality In Sale Of Goods Under The Perspective Of The American And French Law, Renaud Baguenault De Puchesse

LLM Theses and Essays

While the United States’ common law system is characterized by diversity due to each state having its own set of rules, in certain areas there are nationwide legislative attempts of unification and standardization. One such attempt is the adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code which governs the sale of goods law in the United States. The French civil law system generally differs greatly from the American system in that it is primarily based upon statutes and codes. However, the American Uniform Commercial Code and the French Civil Code provide tangible, comparable bases to assess similarities and differences between American and …

Romandette V. Weetabix Co., Inc., 807 F. 2d 309 - Court Of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 1986, Roger J. Miner '56

Circuit Court Opinions

Anthony Romandette appeals pro se from an order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Brieant, J.) dismissing his diversity action for failure to effect service of the summons and complaint, Fed.R.Civ.P. 4, and for neglect to prosecute, Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b). At the time the lawsuit was instituted — December 3, 1984 — and throughout most of the litigation, Romandette was incarcerated. Due to his incarceration, he was dependent upon prison library facilities to research his legal claims and, because of his in forma pauperis status, dependent upon United States Marshals to effectuate service of …

The Determinants Of The Disposition Of Product Liability Claims And Compensation For Bodily Injury, W. Kip Viscusi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The frequency and severity of products liability lawsuits have become a matter of increasing importance and concern to the public at large and to American business in particular. The number of product liability cases filed each year escalated dramatically in the 1970s both in absolute terms and as a fraction of all civil cases.' The economic incentives for safety created by these product liability claims no longer are a minor concern but are now a fundamental influence on the economic environment of the firm. In recent years many larger firms have established corporate product safety offices to integrate these product …

A Moderate And Restrained Federal Product Liability Bill: Targeting The Crisis Areas For Resolution, Aaron D. Twerski

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In this article I have tried to offer a rational, feasible, and politically acceptable solution to the present product liability crisis. To do this, I have first set out the problem. I explain in Part I how courts have created the crisis by formulating incomprehensible legal standards. In Part II, I examine the difficulties with assessing punitive damages against a defendant. In Part III, I discuss the conflict between the torts and workers' compensation systems. In Part IV, I reflect on the need to protect wholesalers and retailers from needless litigation. Part V suggests that a federal study on the …

Retribution And Deterrence: The Role Of Punitive Damages In Products Liability Litigation, Richard C. Ausness

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Action Accrual Date For Written Warranties To Repair: Date Of Delivery Or Date Of Failure To Repair?, Carey A. Dewitt

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that the statute of limitations for an action for breach of a repair warranty should begin to run not when the goods are delivered (on-delivery rule), but when the manufacturer has failed to repair the goods (failure-to-repair rule). Part I considers the current division of authority relating to the action accrual date (the date at which the limitations period begins) for repair warranties. It analyzes the issue of whether the repair warranty is a species of future performance warranty under section 2-725(2) and examines non-Code law on repair promises. Part II discusses the advantages and disadvantages of …

Revolt Against Regulation: The Rise And Pause Of The Consumer Movement, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Revolt Against Regulation: The Rise and Pause of the Consumer Movement by Michael Pertschuk

The Admissibility Of Subsequent Remedial Measures In Strict Liability Actions: Some Suggestions Regarding Federal Rule Of Evidence 407

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Act Of Faith, Jerry J. Phillips

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Modern Products Liability Law by Rocjard A. Epstein

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Admiralty Jurisdiction Exists in Products Liability Action although Product is not Unique to Maritime Use

Plaintiff, a shipyard worker who was exposed to asbestos dust and fiber while installing asbestos insulation, contracted asbestosis, an incurable lung disorder, and sued the manufacturer of the asbestos product, Johns-Manville Corporation, alleging negligent failure to warn and breach of warranty.

British Courts have Jurisdiction over British Subjects Committing Offenses aboard a Foreign Ship on the High Seas

Three British subjects were charged in a British court with violating the Criminal Damage Act of 1971 by committing acts of vandalism on a Danish vessel in …

Products Liability--An Analysis Of Market Share Liability, David A. Fischer

Faculty Publications

In Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories the Supreme Court of California created the market share liability theory of recovery for products liability cases. The innovative Sindell theory, which applies to certain products liability cases in which causation is either questionable or difficult to prove, departed significantly from the traditional tort principles of causation and liability. The theory allows plaintiffs to recover damages for their injuries, but it discounts the defendant's liability by the probability that it did not cause the harm.

Nichols V. Union Underwear Co. And The Meaning Of "Unreasonably Dangerous": A Call For A More Precise Standard, Elsa Goss Black

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Products Liability: Developments In The Rule Of Successor Liability For Product-Related Injuries, Mary Annette Horan

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article will briefly review the traditional principles of corporate law governing the assumption of liabilities in the acquisition of an ongoing business, and the doctrinal premises of strict products liability. Attention will then be critically directed to recent developments in case law in which the traditional rules have been modified to reflect the policy considerations of strict products liability. Finally, this article will discuss the possibility of legislative intervention in the development of new principles governing successor responsibility for products liability claims and propose that this problem is an appropriate subject for legislative rather than judicial action.

Products Liability In Kentucky: The Doctrinal Dilemma, Kathleen F. Brickey

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Strict Products Liability For Used Car Dealers, Marjorie Jones Reeder

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Products Liability: Is § 402a Strict Liability Really Strict In Kentucky?, Charles R. Keeton

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Private Law Treatment Of Defective Products In Sales Situations, Alan Schwartz

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Abc's Of Products Liability -- With A Close Look At Section 402a And The Code, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments In Food Products Liability, F. Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Basis Of Strict Products Liability, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This paper was presented before the Division of Food Drug Cosmetic Law, Section of Corporation, Banking and Business Law of the American Bar Association at the Annual Meeting in St. Louis, August 9. It Is a companion paper to "Restatement or Reformation?" by William J. Condon, which appeared in the August, 1961 issue of this magazine. Mr. Dickerson Is Professor of Law at Indiana University and author of Products Liability and the Food Consumer.

The Expanding Risks Of Products Liability, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Liability Of Retail Dealers For Defective Food Products, Robert C. Brown

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.