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The Liability of the Automobile and Motorcycle

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The Liability of the Automobile and Motorcycle Digital Commons @ Georgia Law LLM Theses and Essays Student Works and Organizations 1-1-1998 THE LIABILITY OF THE AUTOMOBILE AND MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURERS AND THEIR SUPPLIERS FOR DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS IN THE UNITED STATES COMPARED TO GERMANY DANIEL KARL OBR YN The University of Georgia School of Law THE LIABILITY OF THE AUTOMOBILE AND IviO rOF?CYCLE MANUFACTURERS AND THEIR SUPPLIERS FOR DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS IN THE liNiTED STATES COMPARED TO GERMANY Daniel Karl Robyn K The University of Georgia mi'lKmil?^m?,^?.'?°J* LAW LIBRARY Alexander Campbell King Law Library 3 8425 00347 4942 THE LIABILITY OF THE AUTOMOBILE AND MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURERS AND THEIR SUPPLIERS FOR DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS IN THE UNITED STATES COMPARED TO GERMANY by DANIEL KARL ROBYN Erstes Juristisches Staatsexamen, Universitat zu Koln, Germany 1997 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF LAWS ATHENS, GEORGIA 1998 LAW UbKMK . UNIVERSITY OF GEORHIA THE LIABILITY OF THE AUTOMOBILE AND MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURERS AND THEIR SUPPLIERS FOR DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS IN THE UNITED STATES COMPARED TO GERMANY by DANIEL KARL ROBYN Approved: '<^^/^ %\ Major Professor , Date Reading Chair Date Approved: Dean of the Graduate School Date Dedicated to my parents, Marc & Roswitha Robyn, AND TO Cheryl "Kleines" HI Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter I Product liability in the motor vehicle area in Germany 12 A. Sources of law and system of product liability law 12 B. Product liability UNDER traditional tort law (§§ 823 - 853 bob) 18 C. Liability under the Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz)....82 D. Conclusion 89 Chapter II Product liability in the motor vehicle area in the United States 91 A. Sources of product liability LAW 91 B. Development of product liability law 96 C. Manufacturing and design defects 104 D. Special issues pertaining to automobile design litigation 120 E. Warning and instruction defects 159 F. Defenses 171 G. Damages 176 H. Conclusion 180 Appendix 186 Bibliography 187 IV Introduction This thesis deals with the Uability of automobile and motorcycle manufacturers, as well as their suppliers, in situations where a defective product causes a harmfiil event. Specifically, it compares the product liability laws of the Federal Republic of Germany' to those of the United States of America.^ Before entering into the details of legal doctrine, the introductory note provides background information on the social and economic aspects of automobile use in those two countries. Next, Chapter I describes the liability regime governing claims against German motor vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers. Chapter II focuses on the comparable law in the United States and contains the conclusion that both laws are very similar, in part even identical, and only differ in a few aspects. It recommends that the German legislature should introduce capped punitive damages to its product liability law, and, with regard to American product liability law, it argues for the adoption of a clearer determination of the preemption doctrine by the United States Supreme Court. It further pleads against federalization of United States product liability law which, as a part of tort law, traditionally belongs to the states. ' [hereinafter Germany]. 2 [hereinafter United States or U.S.]. 2 - Social aspects demonstrating the practical relevance of the TOPIC Motor vehicle travel is the primary means of transportation in the United States^ and Germany. It provides a high degree of personal mobility for each individual, making it possible to establish social and business contacts and organize one's leisure time. Due to the geographical dimensions and underdeveloped public transportation systems, most importantly in the United States, the automobile has become a practical necessity of everyday life. This observation is reflected in statistics pertaining to the degree of motorization in the two countries. In 1996 the population in the United States was approximately 265.28 million,'* in Germany 82.01 million^ people. The number of registered vehicles in the United States was 201.63 million^, in Germany 49 million'', so that the degree of motorization in the United States is 76 %, whereas in Germany it is only about 57 %. However, it must be kept in mind that children under the age of 16 in the United States and under the age of 1 8 in Germany* are generally not legally entitled to drive automobiles. Moreover, elderly people will often not be able to drive cars due to their physical condition. Thus, because these groups of people may not be taken into account when measuring the degree of motorization, the factual degree of motorization is even higher than the one mentioned above. In addition, the number of new registrations for motor vehicles, especially for passenger cars, increases every year. In ^ U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Overview Traffic Safety Facts 1996, Introduction, p. 1, <http://www.nhtsa.dot.gOv/people/ncsa/overvu96.html#Motorcy>. ^ U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts 1996, Chapter 5, States, Table 103, <http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa/TSF96Contents.html>. ^ Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland (Federal Statistical Office of Germany) [hereinafter Statistisches Bundesamt], <http://www.statistik-bund.de/basis/e/be02_t02.htm>. ^ See supra, note 4. "^ Statistisches Bundesamt, Verkehr (Traffic), <http://v^^ww.statistik-bund.de/basis/d^dl9.htm>. * See, § 7 sec. I, Nr. 3 Strassenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (StVZO) in der Fassung der Bekanntmachung vom 28.09.1988, Bundesgesetzblatt, Teil I [hereinafter BGBi. I], S. 1793 [hereinafter StVZO]. 3 1996 about 4.8 million motor vehicles were newly registered in the United States,^ compared to 3.8 million in 1995'^ while in Germany the number of registrations for passenger cars amounted to almost 3.5 million" in 1996 compared to 3.2 million in 1995.^2 Thus, the degree of motorization increases continuously in both nations. Although motorization brings numerous advantages, its biggest disadvantage is that the use of motor vehicles can lead to accidents in which a large number of people are killed every year. In 1996, there were an estimated 6,842,000 police-reported traffic crashes, in which 41,907 people were killed and 3,51 1,000 people were injured.'^ Thus, an average of 115 persons died each day in motor vehicle crashes, one every 13 minutes. •'* In the same year 8,758 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in Germany, an average of 24 people per day, one every hour .'^ In the majority of these accidents alcohol and / or speeding was at least a contributing factor. '^ However, in a small number of accidents, the malfunction of a part of the motor vehicle, its design or ^ Which comes to the average of 3,55 million new registrations of motor vehicles since 1988, see: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Overview Traffic Safety Facts 1996, Summary, Table 2, p. 3, <http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov./people/ncsa/overvu96.html#Motorcy>. '^ In 1994, the total number of registered vehicles was 188.43 million. In 1995, this number increased to 192.21 million, thus an increase of about 3.8 million compared to 1994 can be noticed. This number increased again in 1996, where 197.1 million vehicles were registered, thus a total of approximately 4.8 million new registrations compared to 1995 can be noticed, see, U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Overview Traffic Safety Facts 1996, Summary, Table 2, p. 3, <http://www.nhtsa.dot. gov./ people/ncsa/overvu96.html#Motorcy>. " Statistisches Bundesamt, Verkehr (Traffic), <http://www.statistik-bund.de/bsis/d/bdl9_t01.htm>. '^ U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Overview Traffic Safety Facts 1996, Introduction, p. 1, <http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov./people/ncsa/overvu96.html#Motorcy>. '^ Statistisches Bundesamt Verkehr (Traffic), <http://www.statitik-bund.de/basis/d^dl9_t03.htm>. '^ In 1996, 17,126 fatalities were alcohol-related (40.9 % of total traffic fatalities for the year) and 12,998 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes (speeding was a contributing factor in 30 % of all fatal crashes), see, U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Overview Traffic Safety Facts 1996, Summary, p. 4-5, <http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov./people/ncsa/overvu96.html #Motorcy>. 4 the lack of necessary information will have played a role in the occurrence of the '"^ accident. - Economic aspect showing the practical importance of the topic The mentioned statistical data already gives a hint to the economic importance of the motor vehicle industry the United States and Germany. In fact, it is one of the top industries in the respective national economies, providing many jobs and constituting a significant percentage of the gross national product. In 1996, Germany, for example, was the third largest producer and the second largest exporter of motorcars in the world. '^ Thus, it is not surprising that one often hears the term "automobile-lobby" which might, from case to case, be connected with the exertion of influence on political, economic and legal decisions. - Effects of product liability on automobile and motorcycle manufacturers (and their suppliers) Product liability laws can affect the business and business-related decisions of motor vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers. First, the liability for defective products often is one factor which is taken into consideration before determining the location of a production center,i^ because the strictness of product liability laws may vary from country to country and in the United States from state to state. However, '^ E.g., see, BGHZ 99,167 ff. - Honda: Here, a steering gear cover led to the death of the driver of a motorcycle; in this case, the defect consisted of the manufacturer's (Honda's) failure to observe accessories (steering gear cover) that could be used for its products (motorcycles).
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