BMGT 380 Chapter 20 Product Liability

caveat emptor

let the buyer beware

caveat venditor

let the seller beware

warranty

express or implied

express warranty

affirmation of fact or promise

any description of the goods

sample or model

value, opinion, and sales talk

not an express warranty

advertisements

may be express warranties, but not normally

conflicting express warranties

read as consistent and cumulative...if impossible intention controls

implied warranty of merchantability

created by operation of law not express statement, implied if they're a merchant (UCC)

Implied warranty of fitness

seller knows purpose for goods, seller has reason to know customer relying on them, buyer actually relies on them

negligence

breached duty to plaintiff by failing to eliminate reasonably foreseeable risk of harm associated with the product

negligent manufacture

improper assembly, materials, or packaging

negligent inspection

manufacturers have a duty to inspect their products for defects if it would be practical and effective

negligent failure to warn

have duty to give appropriate warning when products pose a reasonably foreseeable risk of harm

negligent design

have to design products to avoid reasonably foreseeable risks of harm

strict liability

doesn't require plaintiffs to prove a breach of duty, easier to recover

- seller is a merchant

- product in defective condition and unreasonably dangerous

- not modified post-market

statutes of limitations

how long plaintiff has after time of accident/harm to file a suit

basis of the bargain damages

value of the goods promised, minus the value of goods received

consequential damages

personal injury, property damage, indirect economic loss, noneconomic loss

punitive damages

used to punish actions and deter from doing again

assumption of risk defense

plaintiff's voluntary consent to a known danger

contributory negligence

plaintiff's failure to act reasonably and prudently