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Investigating and Defending Products Liability and Toxic Tort Claims

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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 C. Failure to Warn Claims .............................................................................................15 D. Post-Sale Duty to Warn .............................................................................................20 E. Breach of Warranty Claims ......................................................................................23 1. Implied Warranty of Merchantability........................................................23 2. Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose................................................................................25 3. Express Warranty..........................................................................................26 II. DEFENSES TO PRODUCTS LIABILITY CLAIMS.......................................................29 A. Statutory Defenses Common to All Products Liability Cases..................................................................................29 1. Statute of Limitations ....................................................................................29 a. Negligence Claims – Six Years .......................................................29 b. Strict Liability Claims – Four Years ..............................................30 c. Warranty Claims – Four Years ......................................................30 i d. Wrongful Death Claims – Three Years .........................................32 e. Improvements to Real Property – Two Years ..............................32 2. Notice of Claim ...............................................................................................34 a. General Claims..................................................................................34 b. Breach of Warranty Claims.............................................................34 3. Conflicts-of-Laws Issues................................................................................34 a. Statutes of Limitations Periods – Substantive or Procedural ...............................................................34 b. Danielson v. Nat’l. Supply Co., 670 N.W.2d 1 (Minn. Ct. App. 2003) .......................................................................35 B. Product Identification ................................................................................................37 C. Market Share, Enterprise and Alternative Liability Theories.............................37 D. Subcomponent Manufacturer...................................................................................38 E. Comparative Fault......................................................................................................39 1. Misuse..............................................................................................................40 2. Useful Life of the Product.............................................................................41 3. Assumption of the Risk .................................................................................43 a. Secondary Assumption ....................................................................43 b. Primary Assumption ........................................................................43 4. Open and Obvious Dangers..........................................................................45 F. Modification or Alteration.........................................................................................45 G. Recalls and Retrofits...................................................................................................46 H. Subsequent Remedial Measures...............................................................................47 I. Middleman Statute – Strict Liability Avoidance ...................................................48 J. Res Ipsa Loquitur .......................................................................................................50 ii K. Fire Cases.....................................................................................................................51 L. Compliance with Standards ......................................................................................52 M. Preemption of State Common Law Tort Claims ..................................................53 1. General Background.....................................................................................53 a. General Rule ......................................................................................54 2. The Medtronic v. Lohr Decision..................................................................55 a. Factual Background of Medtronic v. Lohr .............................................................................55 b. Preemption of Negligent Design Claim ....................................................................56 c. Preemption of Other Claims............................................................56 3. Implications of the Medtronic v. Lohr Decision........................................56 N. Learned Intermediary Defense ................................................................................59 O. Sophisticated User ......................................................................................................61 P. Sophisticated Intermediary .......................................................................................61 Q. Bulk Supplier Defense................................................................................................62 R. Raw Materials/Components Products Supplier.....................................................62 S. Restatement (Second) § 402A, Comment k.............................................................62 T. Spoliation of Evidence................................................................................................63 iii III. FOOD-RELATED CLAIMS.................................................................................................65 IV. SUCCESSOR LIABILITY ....................................................................................................69 A. Express or Implied Agreement to Assume Debt ....................................................69 B. De Facto Merger .........................................................................................................70 C. Continuation of the Entity.........................................................................................70 D. The "Product Line" Exception.................................................................................72 E. Successor Duty to Warn.............................................................................................72 F. Minnesota Business Corporations Act.....................................................................72 V. EXPERTS AND EXPERT OPINIONS ...............................................................................75 A. General Discussion......................................................................................................75 B. Witness Selection .................................................................................................76 C. Lay Witnesses..............................................................................................................77 D. Minnesota Rules of Evidence Re: Experts ..............................................................80 1. Rule 702 - Helpfulness and Qualifications..................................................80 2. Rule 703 - Basis for Expert Opinion............................................................81 3. Rule 704 - Expert's Opinion on Ultimate Issue..........................................83 4. Rule 705 - Disclosure of Bases of Expert Opinion.....................................83 a. The Daubert Decision .......................................................................84 b. Application of Daubert in Minnesota.............................................85 iv VI. TOXIC TORT CLAIMS........................................................................................................87
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