Also known as: product liability action · products liability action · products liability actions · product liability · products liability
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A category of civil claims seeking damages for personal injury or property damage caused by a defective product. The claims may rest on negligence, strict liability, or breach of warranty and extend to any foreseeable plaintiff regardless of contractual privity with the manufacturer or seller.
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Paige Porter bought a ladder from a hardware store and lent it to her neighbor Preston Pratt. The ladder collapsed because of a manufacturing flaw, injuring Pratt. Pratt sued the manufacturer directly in negligence. The court permitted the suit to proceed even though Pratt had no contract with the manufacturer.
Patrick Phan contracted with Prism Analytics for custom software that failed to perform. Phan sued in tort for negligent design, seeking only economic damages. The court refused to apply the economic loss rule to bar the claim because the dispute arose outside the products liability context.
Portia Price received a pacemaker that malfunctioned because of a labeling defect. She sued the manufacturer under state tort law. The court held that compliance with FDA labeling rules did not bar her products liability claim for inadequate warnings.
Priscilla Parks was injured when her car lacked an airbag that federal standards permitted but did not require. She sued the manufacturer under state design-defect law. The court held that the state claim conflicted with federal regulations and was therefore preempted.
Pavel Petrov developed asbestosis after years of working with insulation manufactured by Pinnacle Holdings. The company argued it had followed the best available knowledge at the time of sale. The court rejected the defense and held the manufacturer strictly liable for the defective product.
Preston Pratt received a heart valve approved through the FDA's premarket approval process. After the valve failed, he sued under state tort law alleging design defects. The court held that the federal PMA requirements preempted the state products liability claims.
No. A manufacturer owes a duty of due care to any foreseeable plaintiff, including users, consumers, and bystanders, not merely the immediate purchaser.
Supporting sources
The rule bars a products liability plaintiff from recovering purely economic losses in tort without accompanying personal injury or property damage.
Supporting sources
…This rule is consistent with the discovery rule that we have applied in other contexts, such as medical malpractice and products liability. Applying that rule to this case, there are factual issues as to when plaintiff knew or should have known of the location of the paintings and the identity of the possessor. Therefore,…