BULA151 – Strict Liability, Product Liability, Consumer Business Law 151 Discussion Board Short Response Assignment 3
STRICT LIABILITY, PRODUCT LIABILITY, CONSUMER PROTECTION
STRICT LIABILITY
Tell us whether the statements are true and false and why or why not.
A reasonable person standard is applied to strict liability questions.
Strict Liability is imposed for reasons other than fault.
Strict liability holds a defendant liable for the results of his or her actions only if those results were intended.
One of the requirements for a suit based on strict liability is a failure to exercise due care.
Assumption of risk is a defense to strict liability.
Strict Liability applies only to abnormally dangerous activities.
Strict liability requires the proof of a duty of care.
Tell us whether the statements are true and false and why or why not.
PRODUCT LIABILITY
Real Chocolate Company makes a box of candy, which it sells to Sweets Things, Inc, a distributor, Sweets sells the box to Tasty Candy store, where Jill buys it. Jill gives it to Ken, who breaks a tooth on a stone the same size and color of a piece of candy. If Real, Sweet, and Tasty were not negligent, can they be held liable for Ken’s injury? Explain in detail why and why not.
CONSUMER PROTECTION
Spot the issue and explain the related law to the solution.
EZ Electronics, Inc advertises Fiery-brand computers at a low price. EZ keeps only a few in stock and tells its staff to switch customers attracted by the price to more expensive brands. EZ tells its staff that if all else fails, refuse to show a Fiery, and if a customer insists on buying one, do not promise delivery. Joan comes into the store one day pursuant to the ad and insists on the Fiery. Gerald refuses numerous times and tries to get Joan to buy a more expensive computer. Joan knows that the Fiery is what she wants and that the store should deliver it to her. What can she do to get her computer?
Gert buys a notebook computer from EZ Electronics. She pays for it with her credit card. When it proves defective, she asks EZ to repair or replace it for free, but EZ refuses. What can Gert do?
United Pharmaceuticals, Inc. believe it has developed a new drug that will be effective in the treatment of AIDS patients. The drug has had only limited testing, but United wants to make the drug widely available as soon as possible. To market the drug what must United do to convince the Food and Drug Administration? Why? CORE SKILL: these true/false items test whether you can state the RULE and then explain WHY — the “why” is where the marks are, so never answer with a bare true/false.
THE CENTRAL PROPOSITION: STRICT LIABILITY IS LIABILITY WITHOUT FAULT. The plaintiff need NOT prove that the defendant was careless. THEREFORE — and this answers the first item in the prompt — THE “REASONABLE PERSON” STANDARD IS **NOT** APPLIED TO STRICT LIABILITY. The reasonable person standard is the test for NEGLIGENCE. That is the whole distinction: in negligence we ask whether the defendant behaved reasonably; in strict liability we do not care, because the focus shifts from the DEFENDANT’S CONDUCT to the CONDITION OF THE PRODUCT (or the nature of the activity). Any answer that misses this has missed the doctrine.
WHERE STRICT LIABILITY APPLIES: (1) ABNORMALLY DANGEROUS ACTIVITIES (blasting, keeping wild animals, storing hazardous chemicals) — the Restatement factors include high degree of risk, likelihood of great harm, inability to eliminate the risk by reasonable care (this factor is the key: the activity is dangerous EVEN WHEN DONE CAREFULLY, which is precisely why negligence is the wrong framework), inappropriateness to the location, and limited community value. (2) PRODUCTS LIABILITY (Restatement (2d) §402A). (3) Certain animal liability.
STRICT PRODUCTS LIABILITY — the elements: the defendant is a COMMERCIAL SELLER (not a casual/occasional seller — a homeowner selling a used lawnmower at a yard sale is NOT strictly liable, which is a common test item); the product was in a DEFECTIVE CONDITION UNREASONABLY DANGEROUS when it left the defendant’s control; the defect caused the plaintiff’s injury; and the product reached the user without substantial change. NO PRIVITY OF CONTRACT IS REQUIRED — a bystander injured by a defective product can recover, which is one of the doctrine’s most important features and a frequent true/false item.
THE THREE DEFECT TYPES: MANUFACTURING (this unit deviated from the design — the classic strict liability case); DESIGN (the whole line is defective — tested by CONSUMER EXPECTATION or RISK-UTILITY, which asks whether a reasonable alternative design existed at a reasonable cost); and FAILURE TO WARN / inadequate instructions (note that a warning does not cure a design defect that could have been reasonably designed out).
DEFENSES: product MISUSE (unforeseeable misuse — but foreseeable misuse does NOT bar recovery); ASSUMPTION OF RISK; COMPARATIVE FAULT (in most states, reduces rather than bars recovery); the state-of-the-art defense; and statutes of repose. Note that “I exercised all possible care” is NOT a defense — that is the defining feature of strict liability and the most important thing to say.
CONSUMER PROTECTION: the FTC Act §5 (unfair or deceptive acts or practices); the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (full vs. limited warranties; restricts disclaimers of implied warranties when a written warranty is given); the Consumer Product Safety Commission and recall authority; truth-in-lending and fair-credit statutes.
FOR EACH TRUE/FALSE: state the answer, state the RULE, and explain WHY. A bare “false” earns nothing.
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