Exam 19: Warranties and Product Liability

Should a plaintiff exposed to the secondhand smoke of his parents while the plaintiff was a child be able to recover from cigarette manufacturers for smoking-related illness or health problems? Are there variables that should affect the manufacturers' liability? Should such a party be more or less able to recover than the parent for the parent's own smoking-related health problems? What effect should the warnings on cigarette packages have on the outcome?

For a warranty to qualify as a full warranty,the warrantor must guarantee free repair or replacement of the defective product.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act requires that sellers or lessors make certain express written warranties.

Most states have statutes of limitations that require an injured person to bring an action within a certain number of years from the time he or she was injured by a defective product.

What was the result in Shoshone Coca-Cola Bottling Company v.Dolinski,in which the plaintiff became ill after consuming a soft drink with a dead mouse in it and sued the manufacturer of the drink?

Strict liability is:

Should the size of a package amount to a warranty that the contents fill the container as much as practicable? There are numerous products where the packaging contains much dead space.What do you think? What is you opinion of the common practice of manufacturers to reduce the amount of product without reducing the package size?

In evaluating the adequacy of a product's design,some courts apply a "risk-utility" analysis,which requires proof that the product is more dangerous than the ordinary consumer would expect.

Strict liability has made negligence far less important as a theory under which to recover for injuries caused by products.

Worldwide Toys sells a game in which the players throw heavy steel balls,about 1 inch in diameter,at knock-down targets that are placed approximately 20 feet from where the player stands when throwing the balls.There have been a number of injuries caused by persons being struck by the balls while the game is being played.If the balls were made any lighter,they would not be able to knock down the targets when thrown at them.In a product liability suit,most likely:

Written disclaimers must be ________ displayed to be valid.

Which of the following is an effective disclaimer of implied warranties?

Warranties may be either expressly stated or implied by law.

To be successful,the plaintiff in a negligence case must prove that the defendant breached a duty of due care owed to any person and that the plaintiff was injured.

A seller's statement of opinion,also known as ________,________ an express warranty.

In a product liability action based on strict liability,the plaintiff must prove the existence of a defect,but does not need to prove who caused the defect.

If a manufacturer produces a defective product,sells it to a wholesaler,who sells it to a retailer,who sells it to a consumer,who is injured,which parties in the chain of distribution are potentially liable under strict liability?

In applying the crashworthiness doctrine,courts have held that automobile manufacturers are under a duty to design automobiles to take into account the possibility of a "second collision."

Sellers and lessors are not required to make express warranties.

An express warranty is created when a seller or lessor indicates that goods will conform to a model or sample of them.