Product Liability Law Outline

Product Liability Law

Outline

I. Introduction

Imagine getting the same old dog or cat food for your pet that you always get and all of a sudden your pet gets sick and dies.

Is this a case that can be filed against the business you bought the food from, the company that made the food, or both?

Should companies be held accountable to a higher degree?

II. Definition of Product Liability

Business Law: The Ethical, Global, and E-Commerce Environment

Cornell Law School

III. History of Product Liability

1. Denis W. Stearns

IV. Product Liability Claims

1. Manufacturing Defects 2. Design Defects 3. Negligence 4. Strict tort Liability 5. Breach
Were would you start to find out what happened? First, you would have to take your pet to the veterinarian if it is sick and find out the cause of our pets sudden illness. Of course, if your pet dies then it would be up to you at your own expense or the veterinarian’s expense to find out what the cause of death was if there were multiple pets sick or dying. It could be a really long process before a company knows its pet food is tainted because it is distributed all over the world. In this case on March 16, 2007, Menu Foods, Inc., and other brand names recalled 84 varieties of dog food and 56 varieties of cat food due to poison found in their pet food. These products were produced at two of its facilities between December. 3, 2006, and March 6, 2007. Since then, Menu Foods has expanded its recall and several other companies also have voluntarily withdrawn products from the market. It probably took the FDA days to figure out what was wrong with Menu Foods, Inc., pet food which was causing pets to get sick and in some cases dying. Once you find out that your pet was poisoned you might want to contact a lawyer and make a product liability claim against Menu Food, Inc. Should Menu Foods, Inc., be held accountable to Product Liability Law’s based on damages that a product caused? Consequently, they should be held accountable and I will
Our text book defines product liability as, “the body of legal rules governing civil lawsuits for losses and harms resulting from a defendant’s furnishing of defective goods” (p. 482). Our text has a general explanation of product liability though, Cornell Law School has as in-depth definition which states, “Products liability refers to the liability of any or all parties along the chain of manufacture of any product for damage caused by that product. This includes the manufacturer of component parts (at the top of the chain), an assembling manufacturer, the wholesaler, and the retail store owner (at the bottom of the chain). Products containing inherent defects that cause harm to a consumer of the product, or someone to whom the product was loaned, given, etc., are the subjects of products liability suits. While products are generally thought of as tangible personal property, products liability has stretched that definition to include intangibles (gas), naturals (pets), real estate (house), and writings (navigational charts)” (para. 1). Cornell Law School covers different aspects on what and who is covered under product liability. My personal opinion is a person should be able to make a product liability claim against the manufacture of that product. It should cover any product that you buy, borrow, or lease that causes harm or death with no negligence on your part. Now, we need to know