GM verdict could affect future cases

Article Abstract:

The verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the Georgia case of Moseley v General Motors Corp foreshadows major products liability issues for the 1990s. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating the safety of the GM trucks involved in the litigation. If the NHTSA decides that the truck is defective even though it complied with federal safety standards when designed, this would reverse key tenets of products liability law. The constitutionality and size of punitive damages awarded in civil lawsuits is another Moseley issue likely to reemerge.

Investigations, Exemplary damages, Punitive damages, United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Excessive tort litigation costs vaporize profits

Article Abstract:

Products liability law is one area of the civil justice system which badly needs reform. Senator Robert W. Kasten's tort reform bill (S640) would have imposed uniform product liability standards including narrowed liability for product sellers, caps on punitive damages, and encouragement for alternative dispute resolution. The bill did not pass the Senate. Our civil rights can be made safest by limiting the scope of national government and letting the states take care of safeguarding our personal and property rights.

National government, Justice, Administration of, Administration of justice, Federal government

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In the new Restatement on Torts, the reporters distinguished manufacturing defects from design and warning defects

Article Abstract:

The Restatement (3d) on Torts defines three basic product defect types and distinguishes them from defects related to design or providing warnings. The manufacturing defect test and reasonableness standard established by the Third Restatement represent a major step forward in legal theory. The standard used in the Restatement (3d) is not based solely on consumer expectations of product design, but it does incorporate theories of consumer risk and foreseeability.

United States, Torts

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