The Resurrection of The Consumer Expectations Test: A Regression in American Products Liability

36 Pages Posted: 8 Oct 2019 Last revised: 9 Oct 2019

See all articles by Tiffany Colt

Tiffany Colt

University of Miami School of Law International and Comparative Law Review

Date Written: 2019

Abstract

Thirty-five of the forty-six states that acknowledge strict products liability utilize some form of risk-utility analyses to determine whether a product is defectively designed. In two recent court decisions, the supreme courts of Florida and Nevada departed from this majority trend for design defect analyses in product liability. In Aubin v. Union Carbide Corp., and Ford Motor Company v. Trejo, the Florida Supreme Court and the Nevada Supreme Court, respectively, rejected the use of risk-utility analyses, including that endorsed by the Restatement (Third) and adopted the consumer expectations test.

This Note begins with a summary of products liability – namely, the history of design defect claims with special attention to the Restatement (Second)’s treatment of the consumer expectations test and risk-utility analyses, and the Restatement (Third)’s treatment of risk-utility analyses. Next, the author discusses current doctrinal trends of state supreme courts as well as the outlier decisions by the Florida Supreme Court in Aubin and the Nevada Supreme Court in Trejo. The author concludes by analyzing the arguments set forth by the supreme courts of Florida and Nevada to adopt the consumer expectations test as the sole standard, in contrast to the majority of states.

Suggested Citation

Colt, Tiffany, The Resurrection of The Consumer Expectations Test: A Regression in American Products Liability (2019). University of Miami International & Comparative Law Review, Vol. 26, 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3459269

Tiffany Colt (Contact Author)

University of Miami School of Law International and Comparative Law Review ( email )

1311 Miller Rd
Coral Gables, FL 33146
United States

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