Product Liability 2018 16Th Edition
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Attention Food & Beverage Industry: False Advertising, Product Liability, and Defamation Litigation Is Making an Impact
Attention Food & Beverage Industry: False Advertising, Product Liability, and Defamation Litigation is Making an Impact Presented by: Erik Connolly, Amanda Groves, Neil Murphy, and Ron Rothstein Today’s eLunch Presenters Erik Connolly Amanda Groves Neil Murphy Ron Rothstein Partner Partner Partner Partner Chicago Charlotte/San Francisco Chicago Chicago [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] +1 (312) 558-6339 +1 (704) 350-7755 +1 (312) 558-7538 +1 (312) 558-7464 2 Overview 1. The Broadening Scope of Labeling and Safety Issue Targeted by the Plaintiffs’ Bar 2. Got HFCS? A Report from the Front Lines of Product Liability and False Advertising Litigation Involving High Fructose Corn Syrup 3. Food Defamation: Protecting Your Brand 3 The Broadening Scope of Labeling and Safety Issues Targeted by the Plaintiffs’ Bar Presented by: Amanda Groves Ron Rothstein 4 Overview • What’s under attack in consumer class actions? • Pet Food – Propylene Glycol • Homeopathic Medicines • Health Claims – Kind Bar • Chocolate – Antioxidants • Slack Fill 5 Where Do These Lawsuits Come From? Hire FDA State Consultant - FDA Warning Investigative FTC Consent NAD Rulings Attorneys Find Technical Journalism Judgments Letters Violation of General Regulations or Invent Theory Lawsuits 6 Who is Behind the Litigation? Law Offices of Law Offices of Janet Howard W. Lindner Spielberg Rubinstein, P.A. Reese Richman LLP Braun Law Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello, P.C. 7 Who is Behind the Litigation? • Many of the -
Products Liability: User Misconduct Defenses David G
University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Faculty Publications Law School Fall 2000 Products Liability: User Misconduct Defenses David G. Owen University of South Carolina - Columbia, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/law_facpub Part of the Torts Commons Recommended Citation David G. Owen, Products Liability: User Misconduct Defenses, 52 S.C.L.Rev. 1 (2000). This Article is brought to you by the Law School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PRODUCTS LIABILITY: USER MISCONDUCT DEFENSES DAVID G. OwEN* I. TRADITIONAL USER MISCONDUCT DEFENSES: AN OVERVIEW ....... 3 A. Common Law ......................................... 3 B. Reform Legislation ..................................... 5 II. CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE ................................ 9 A. In General ........................................... 9 B. Warnings Cases ...................................... 15 C. Children ............................................ 15 D. Employees ........................................... 16 E. ContributoryNegligence as a Defense to Strict Liability in Tort Claims ........................................ 17 F. Contributory Negligence as the Sole Proximate Cause of an Accident ........................................ 21 III. ASSUMPTION OF RISK ..................................... 23 A. In General .......................................... 23 B. -
An Introduction to Product Liability Law
AN INTRODUCTION TO PRODUCT LIABILITY LAW When a person is injured by a defective product that is unreasonably dangerous or unsafe, the injured person may have a claim or cause of action against the company that designed, manufactured, sold, distributed, leased, or furnished the product. In other words, the company may be liable to the person for his injuries and, as a result, may be required to pay for his damages. That, in short, is product liability; and, not surprisingly, the law that governs this kind of liability is referred to as product liability law. This article is intended to serve as a brief introduction to product liability law, especially as it relates to food. However, before we embark on our introductory tour of this subject, a few words of warning are necessary. First, you should keep in mind that whole books have been written about product liability law and that this article is, by necessity, an oversimplification of a complex subject. Second, for every general rule described below, you should assume that there exists innumerable exceptions. That is the way the law is, and, if it were otherwise, there would be a lot of lawyers out of work. Finally, you should remember that, as a rule, the law is different from state to state, and product liability law is no exception to this rule. A BRIEF HISTORY OF STRICT PRODUCT LIABILITY LAW AN INJURY WITH NO REMEDY AT LAW It is exceedingly rare, in the law, when one can point to a general rule that is both well established and uniformly followed. -
New Realities Risks in the Virtual World 2
Emerging Risk Report 2018 Technology New realities Risks in the virtual world 2 Lloyd’s disclaimer About the author This report has been co-produced by Lloyd's and Amelia Kallman is a leading London futurist, speaker, Amelia Kallman for general information purposes only. and author. As an innovation and technology While care has been taken in gathering the data and communicator, Amelia regularly writes, consults, and preparing the report Lloyd's does not make any speaks on the impact of new technologies on the future representations or warranties as to its accuracy or of business and our lives. She is an expert on the completeness and expressly excludes to the maximum emerging risks of The New Realities (VR-AR-MR), and extent permitted by law all those that might otherwise also specialises in the future of retail. be implied. Coming from a theatrical background, Amelia started Lloyd's accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss her tech career by chance in 2013 at a creative or damage of any nature occasioned to any person as a technology agency where she worked her way up to result of acting or refraining from acting as a result of, or become their Global Head of Innovation. She opened, in reliance on, any statement, fact, figure or expression operated and curated innovation lounges in both of opinion or belief contained in this report. This report London and Dubai, working with start-ups and corporate does not constitute advice of any kind. clients to develop connections and future-proof strategies. Today she continues to discover and bring © Lloyd’s 2018 attention to cutting-edge start-ups, regularly curating All rights reserved events for WIRED UK. -
Tort Liability That May Attach to Intellectual Property Licensing, 13 J
UIC Law Review Volume 13 Issue 1 Article 4 Fall 1979 Tort Liability That May Attach to Intellectual Property Licensing, 13 J. Marshall L. Rev. 105 (1979) W. R. Norris Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.uic.edu/lawreview Part of the Intellectual Property Law Commons, and the Torts Commons Recommended Citation W.R. Norris, Tort Liability That May Attach to Intellectual Property Licensing, 13 J. Marshall L. Rev. 105 (1979) https://repository.law.uic.edu/lawreview/vol13/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UIC Law Open Access Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in UIC Law Review by an authorized administrator of UIC Law Open Access Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TORT LIABILITY THAT MAY ATTACH TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING W. R. NORRIS* INTRODUCTION Due to the wide applicability of the functions of tort law, there has emerged an interface between the field of intellectual property licensing and tort law which by definition applies to le- gal responsibilities outside the scope of the licensing contract. However, there appears to be a dearth of case law and compan- ion writings on tort liability in the fields of know-how and patent licensing even though tort liability has become well established in the field of trademark licensing over the past few years. The reasons for the development of this dichotomy are not clear. Between the licensor and licensee of technology and/or patents, one can speculate that the agreement has generally been sufficient in outlining performances and remedies required by the parties, even though some theories support extracontrac- tual remedies in tort.' Lacking privity with the technology licen- sor, a third party customer of the licensee is likely to target his recourse against the licensee-manufacturer. -
Product Liability and Protection of EU Consumers: Is It Time for a Serious Reassessment?
Journal of Private International Law ISSN: 1744-1048 (Print) 1757-8418 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rpil20 Product liability and protection of EU consumers: is it time for a serious reassessment? Giorgio Risso To cite this article: Giorgio Risso (2019) Product liability and protection of EU consumers: is it time for a serious reassessment?, Journal of Private International Law, 15:1, 210-233, DOI: 10.1080/17441048.2019.1579994 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/17441048.2019.1579994 Published online: 06 Jun 2019. Submit your article to this journal View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rpil20 Journal of Private International Law, 2019 Vol. 15, No. 1, 210–233, https://doi.org/10.1080/17441048.2019.1579994 Product liability and protection of EU consumers: is it time for a serious reassessment? Giorgio Risso* The European Union (EU) has not enacted a coherent and fully-fledged product liability regime. At the substantive level, the Product Liability Directive – adopted in 1985 – is the only piece of legislation harmonising the laws of the Member States. At the private international law level, the special choice-of-laws provision in the Rome II Regulation coexists with the general rules in the Brussels I-bis Regulation. Cross-border product liability cases are therefore subject to different pieces of legislation containing either “general” or “specific” provisions. In turn, such general and specific provisions do have their own rationales which, simplistically, can be inspired by “pro-consumer”, “pro-producer”, or more “balanced” considerations, or can be completely “indifferent” to consumer protection. -
Chapter 7 Tort Law and Product Liability Chapter Outline 1
Chapter 7 Tort Law and Product Liability Chapter Outline 1. Introduction 2. The Basis of Tort Law 3. Intentional Torts 4. Negligence 5. Cyber Torts: Defamation Online 6. Strict Liability 7. Product Liability 8. Defenses to Product Liability 9. Tort Law and the Paralegal Chapter Objectives After completing this chapter, you will know: • What a tort is, the purpose of tort law, and the three basic categories of torts. • The four elements of negligence. • What is meant by strict liability and under what circumstances strict liability is applied. • The meaning of strict product liability and the underlying policy for imposing strict product liability. • What defenses can be raised in product liability actions. Chapter 7 Tort Law and Product Liability Chapter Outline I. INTRODUCTION A. Torts are wrongful actions. B. The word tort is French for “wrong.” II. THE BASIS OF TORT LAW A. Two notions serve as the basis of all torts. i. Wrongs ii. Compensation B. In a tort action, one person or group brings a personal-injury suit against another person or group to obtain compensation or other relief for the harm suffered. C. Tort suits involve “private” wrongs, distinguishable from criminal actions that involve “public” wrongs. D. The purpose of tort law is to provide remedies for the invasion of various interests. E. There are three broad classifications of torts. i. Intentional Torts ii. Negligence iii. Strict Liability F. The classification of a particular tort depends largely on how the tort occurs (intentionally or unintentionally) and the surrounding circumstances. Intentional Intentions An intentional tort requires only that the tortfeasor, the actor/wrongdoer, intended, or knew with substantial certainty, that certain consequences would result from the action. -
COVID-19 What Will It Mean for the Future of Risk? January 2021 Foreword
COVID-19 What will it mean for the future of risk? January 2021 Foreword As the saying goes, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face”. This 3 sums up the way many businesses and households were feeling in 2020, living and working in the midst of a global pandemic. Now, as we usher in 2021, business Contents leaders can expect further COVID-related issues that they will need to consider. 3 Foreword Navigating the COVID-19 risk landscape pandemics have almost certainly joined the list of other 4 Introduction: living in the shadow of a global pandemic systemic risks, like terrorism and secondary perils from Even as the world prepares to continue to roll-out COVID-19 climate change such as flooding. Such risks will redefine 6 Executive summary: post-COVID emerging risks vaccines, social distancing will continue for the foreseeable public-private relationships. It cannot be assumed future, as will the potential for further business interruptions. that the industry will be able to bear the risk of future 10 Part 1: New cyber threats in an accelerated digital age Businesses must remain agile not only in addressing the pandemics itself. business risks which have already materialised during 2020, 16 Part 2: Less oversight and support – the realities of remote working but they must also look ahead in anticipating new and In helping business leaders to meet the post-COVID emerging risk pools as a result of COVID-19. 20 Part 3: Health and safety issues for home workers challenges, the insurance industry will have to review product features across a wide range of business lines to reflect the 28 Part 4: A long-term reconfiguration of commuting habits This report focusses on the important task of looking at the changing landscape of COVID-19 related risks. -
Investigating and Defending Products Liability and Toxic Tort Claims
INVESTIGATING AND DEFENDING PRODUCTS LIABILITY AND TOXIC TORT CLAIMS Presented at the Twin Cities Claims Association Winter Seminar December 4, 2006 Lawrence M. Rocheford [email protected] 8519 Eagle Point Boulevard, Suite 100 Lake Elmo, Minnesota 55042-8624 (651) 290-6500 Copyright © 2006 by Jardine, Logan & O'Brien, P.L.L.P. INDEX _______________________________________________________________________________ I. COMMON PRODUCTS LIABILITY CLAIMS.................................................................1 A. Negligence Claims.........................................................................................................1 1. Design.................................................................................................................2 2. Manufacture .....................................................................................................5 3. Entrustment ......................................................................................................7 4. Bailments...........................................................................................................8 B. Strict Liability Claims..................................................................................................9 1. Defective Design .............................................................................................10 2. Defective Manufacture ..................................................................................13 3. Entrustment ....................................................................................................14 -
Civil Nature of Suit Code Descriptions (Rev
Civil Nature of Suit Code Descriptions (Rev. 04/21) Contract Code Title Description 110 Insurance Action alleging breach of insurance contract, tort claim, or other cause related to an insurance contract, except for maritime insurance contracts. 120 Marine Action (Admiralty or Maritime) based on service, employment, insurance or other contracts relating to maritime vessels and other maritime contractual matters. 130 Miller Act Action based on performance and payment bonds agreed to by contractors on federal construction projects as required under the Miller Act, 40 U.S.C. § 3131-3134. 140 Negotiable Instrument Action relating to an agreement to pay a specific amount of money, including promissory notes, loan agreements and checks. 150 Recovery of Overpayment & Enforcement Action to recover debt owed to the United States, including Judgment enforcement of judgments, based on overpayments and restitution agreements involving matters other than Medicare benefits, student loans and veterans’ benefits. 151 Medicare Action relating to Medicare payments, including actions for payments of benefits, to recover overpayments, and for judicial review of administrative decisions. 152 Recovery of Defaulted Student Loans Action to recover debt owed to the United States from defaulted (Excludes Veterans) student loan. 153 Recovery of Overpayment of Veterans' Action relating to payments of veterans’ benefits, primarily including Benefits actions to recover overpayments. 160 Stockholders' Suits Action brought by stockholder(s) of a corporation (including -
Is There Really No Liability Without Fault?: a Critique of Goldberg & Zipursky
IS THERE REALLY NO LIABILITY WITHOUT FAULT?: A CRITIQUE OF GOLDBERG & ZIPURSKY Gregory C. Keating* INTRODUCTION In their influential writings over the past twenty years and most recently in their article “The Strict Liability in Fault and the Fault in Strict Liability,” Professors Goldberg and Zipursky embrace the thesis that torts are conduct-based wrongs.1 A conduct-based wrong is one where an agent violates the right of another by failing to conform her conduct to the standard required by the law.2 As a description of negligence liability, the characterization of torts as conduct-based wrongs is both correct and illuminating. Negligence involves a failure to conduct oneself as a reasonable person would. It is fault in the deed, not fault in the doer. At least since Vaughan v. Menlove,3 it has been clear that a blameless injurer can conduct himself negligently and so be held liable.4 Someone who fails to conform to the standard of conduct expected of the average reasonable person and physically harms someone else through such failure is prima * William T. Dalessi Professor of Law and Philosophy, USC Gould School of Law. I am grateful to John Goldberg and Ben Zipursky both for providing a stimulating paper and for feedback on this Article. Daniel Gherardi provided valuable research assistance. 1. John C.P. Goldberg & Benjamin C. Zipursky, The Strict Liability in Fault and the Fault in Strict Liability, 85 FORDHAM L. REV. 743, 745 (2016) (“[F]ault-based liability is . liability predicated on some sort of wrongdoing. [L]iability rests on the defendant having been ‘at fault,’ i.e., having failed to act as required.”). -
WORKPLACE ISSUES and COVID-19 in ASIA-PACIFIC March 2020
WORKPLACE ISSUES AND COVID-19 IN ASIA-PACIFIC March 2020 Workplace Issues and COVID-19 in Asia-Pacific March 2020 Introduction The World Organisation (WHO) has now upgraded the status of the Covid-19 outbreak from epidemic to pandemic. It is a global health threat and is causing unprecedented disruption. Although many companies have business continuity plans in place, very few of these address the specific employment issues arising out of an outbreak of a virus like COVID-19 which appears to be highly contagious but generally symptomless early in the infection stage. This raises numerous workplace issues including: ▪ refusal to attend work ▪ enforced working from home ▪ sickness benefits during self-isolation ▪ workplace health and safety ▪ data privacy and confidentiality ▪ business travel restrictions ▪ discrimination Most countries now have mandatory quarantine requirements in place for anyone testing positive for the virus. Many governments are going further and imposing self-isolation or quarantine requirements for incoming travellers (irrespective of where they have travelled from) and restricting non-citizens / residents from entering their country. The public has have been advised not to travel unless it is essential. Many offices and business, particularly those in high risk jurisdictions, including Mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore, have already introduced voluntary infection control measures such as requiring any employee who may have been exposed to anyone confirmed as having the virus, to work from home. However, even for those already making plans it appears that the spread of the virus is likely to outpace those preparations and employers need to be flexible and be prepared to react to the situation which is developing at an alarming pace.