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Post-Sale Duty to Warn

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Post-Sale Duty to Warn Post-Sale Duty to Warn A Report of the Products Liability Committee AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION Section of Litigation Kenneth Ross General Editor and Contributor ISBN #: 1-59031-253-8 © 2004 by the American Bar Association. All rights reserved. The materials contained herein represent the opinions of the authors and editors and should not be construed to be those of the either the American Bar Association or the Litigation Section unless adopted pursuant to the bylaws of the Association. Nothing contained herein is to be considered as the rendering of legal advice for specific cases, and readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel. These materials and any forms and agreements herein are intended for educational and informational purposes only.. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1 CONTRIBUTORS AND REVIEWERS..........................................................................3 THE QUIET REVOLUTION IN POST-SALE DUTIES BY PROFESSOR M. STUART MADDEN ..........................................................................................................7 AVOIDING FUTURE PROBLEMS: THE INCREASED DUTY TO TAKE POST- SALE REMEDIAL ACTION BY KENNETH ROSS..................................................38 “ADEQUATE AND REASONABLE” PRODUCT RECALLS BY KENNETH ROSS ............................................................................................................................................52 50-STATE SURVEY........................................................................................................68 Alabama – Theodore C. Miloch, II.....................................................................................................68 Alaska – Mark Berry ..........................................................................................................................68 Arizona – Jill Goldsmith ....................................................................................................................68 Arkansas – Ed Bott.............................................................................................................................71 California – Mark Berry .....................................................................................................................72 Colorado – Scott W. Sayler and Douglas B. Maddock, Jr. ................................................................74 Connecticut – Sean Fisher..................................................................................................................76 Delaware – Sean Fisher......................................................................................................................77 District of Columbia – Dabney Carr and Gary Spahn........................................................................77 Florida – Theodore C. Miloch, II .......................................................................................................77 Georgia – Charles R. Beans................................................................................................................78 Hawaii – Mark Berry..........................................................................................................................81 Idaho – Daniel S. Wittenberg .............................................................................................................82 Illinois – Stephanie A. Scharf and Thomas P. Monroe ......................................................................83 Indiana – John L. Tate and Douglas B. Bates ....................................................................................85 Iowa – Marlon Polk............................................................................................................................86 Kansas – Scott W. Sayler and Douglas B. Maddock, Jr.....................................................................87 Louisiana – Kim Moore......................................................................................................................90 Maine – Sean Fisher ...........................................................................................................................93 Maryland – Dabney Carr and Gary Spahn .........................................................................................94 Massachusetts – Sean Fisher ..............................................................................................................95 Michigan – Stephanie A. Scharf and Thomas P. Monroe ..................................................................96 Minnesota – George W. Soule and David S. Miller...........................................................................97 Mississippi – Theodore C. Miloch, II...............................................................................................102 Missouri – Ed Bott............................................................................................................................103 Montana – Dan Wittenberg ..............................................................................................................106 Nebraska – Marlon Polk...................................................................................................................106 Nevada – Jill Goldsmith ...................................................................................................................107 New Hampshire – Sean Fisher .........................................................................................................107 New Jersey – Beth Kaufman ............................................................................................................107 New Mexico – Jill Goldsmith...........................................................................................................108 New York – Samuel Goldblatt, Christopher Thomas and Brian Eckman........................................109 North Carolina – Charles R. Beans ..................................................................................................117 North Dakota – Marlon Polk ............................................................................................................118 Ohio – Mark Hayden........................................................................................................................119 i Oklahoma – Ed Bott .........................................................................................................................120 Oregon – Daniel S. Wittenberg ........................................................................................................122 Pennsylvania – Beth Kaufman .........................................................................................................123 Rhode Island – Sean Fisher ..............................................................................................................124 South Carolina – Charles R. Beans ..................................................................................................125 South Dakota – Marlon Polk ............................................................................................................126 Tennessee – John L. Tate and Dianna Baker Shew..........................................................................127 Texas – Theodore C. Miloch, II .......................................................................................................127 Utah – Deborah Danilof ...................................................................................................................128 Vermont – Sean Fisher .....................................................................................................................129 Virginia – Dabney Carr and Gary Spahn..........................................................................................130 Washington – Deborah Danilof........................................................................................................132 West Virginia – Elliot G. Hicks .......................................................................................................134 Wisconsin – Stephanie A. Scharf and Thomas P. Monroe...............................................................135 Wyoming – Thomas P. Branigan .....................................................................................................136 ii Introduction I have been intrigued by the concept of post-sale duty to warn for over twenty years. As an in-house lawyer from 1976 until 1987, it was my responsibility, in part, to counsel my clients on post-sale issues. This was always one of the most challenging and potentially dangerous areas of counseling any lawyer had to provide. A manufacturer that makes an inappropriate decision in this area can incur significant fines from government agencies, bad publicity, new accidents, an increased risk of liability for compensatory and punitive damages, decreased goodwill with suppliers and vendors, an increased risk of recalls, and decreased sales to consumers. Recently, more courts have adopted some version of law imposing post-sale responsibilities on manufacturers and other product sellers. In recognition of this trend, the American Law Institute included certain post-sale duties to warn in the Restatement Third, Torts: Products Liability. According to Professors Henderson and Twerksi, the Reporters for the Restatement (Third), “…post-sale warnings are probably the most
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