Jeopardy
Product
Defect
Houston
McCarthy Litigation
Q $100
Q $100
Q $100
Q $100
Q $100
Q $200
Q $200
Q $200
Q $200
Q $200
Q $300
Q $300
Q $300
Q $300
Q $300
Q $400
Q $400
Q $400
Q $400
Q $400
Q $500
Q $500
Q $500
Q $500
Q $500
Final Jeopardy
$100 Q: Electricity is a Product
…
True or False …
$100 Answer: Electricity is a
Product …
True …
$200 Q: Hollow-tipped bullets
are NOT a “product” because
they are too dangerous
True or False …
$200 Answer
False …
$300 Q: A “Product” can be the
unborn young of animals, as well
as growing crops and other
identified things attached to
realty
True or False …
$300 Answer
True …
$400 Q: Money is definitely a
“Product” because it is movable
at the time of identification to the
contract for sale
True or False …
$400 Answer
False …
$500 Q: Items such as electricity, real estate,
computer software, water, component
parts, houses, and pets have been BOTH
regarded and disregarded by courts as
products
for purposes of applying strict liability
principles.
True or False …
$500 Answer
True …
$100 Q: The Product in Houston
was …
Electricity, Bullets, Knives,
Cottenballs …something else
$100 Answer
Electricity …
$200 Q: Of these 3, which was the dispositive
issue: In order to recover for an injury on the
theory of strict liability in tort, the plaintiff
bears the burden of proving that the
defendant: (1) placed in the stream of
commerce a product; (2) that such product
was in a defective or unreasonably dangerous
condition; and (3) that there was a causal
connection between such condition and the
plaintiff's injuries or damages
(1) (2) or (3)
$200 Answer
(1) Stream of Commerce …
$300 Q: The court thought that since the powerline
was ten feet higher than required by the National
Electrical Safety Code, it met its burden of meeting
of complying with applicable codes or ordinances
governing the placement of lines.
True or False …
$300 Answer
True …
$400 Q: It was held that the
parents of the minor child were
negligent in letting their child
touch the power lines with metal
poles.
True or False …
$400 Answer
False …
$500 Q: The Houston case might have had a
different result of either of these facts were
found:
1. The height of the power lines did not meet
ordinances and regulations
2. There was evidence that the electricity was
delivered into a usable voltage prior to the
plaintiff touching the power line.
True or False …
$500 Answer
Perhaps … 
$100 Q: The hollow-point bullets
in McCarthy are NOT a Product
because they are too dangerous
and should be banned
True or False …
$100 Answer
False …
$200 Q: If the hollow-tipped
bullets do NOT kill, then they are
defective.
True or False …
$200 Answer
False …
$300 Q: The court held that it is
the job of the legislature to
decide if the bullets should even
be manufactured.
True or False …
$300 Answer
True …
$400 Q: The court discussed
product category liability and
said that such a concept it would
amount to a de facto ban on the
product
True or False …
$400 Answer
True …
$500 Q: Even though McCarthy
lost the case, McCarthy
successfully argued that the
bullets were defectively designed
because they were extra
dangerous.
True or False …
$500 Answer
False …
$100 Q: A product is in a defective
condition unreasonably dangerous to the
user when it has a propensity for causing
physical harm beyond that which would
be contemplated by the ordinary user or
consumer who purchases it . . . .”
True or False …
$100 Answer
Yes, that is one definition …
$200 Q: Black’s Law
Dictionary’s definition of
“defective condition” is generally
considered as the end-all of how
to define “defective condition.
True or False …
$200 Answer
False …
$300 Q: The following may all be
considered in defining a “defect”
1. Design defect: the existence of a
safe alternative design
2. Manufacturing defect: the product
deviated from its planned specifications
3. Marketing defect” the product lacked
an adequate warning
True or False …
$300 Answer
True …
$400 Q: the imposition of strict liability
places the burden of the product
user’s loss squarely on the manufacturer
or seller without the proof of fault,
causation, privity, or breach of an
express or implied promise.
True or False …
$400 Answer
True …
$500 Q: In strict liability actions, the
product itself will prove or disprove
whether a defect existed in its
manufacturing, design, or warning.
True or False …
$500 Answer
True …
$100 Q: Almost all state courts have adopted
the strict-liability principles cast in
Restatement of Tort (Second) § 402A (1965),
and many state courts are beginning to
recognize the evolution of these principles as
set forth in the Restatement of Torts (Third):
Products Liability (1997), both of which
provide a clear enunciation of strict liability as
it applies to defective products
True or False …
$100 Answer
True …
$200 Q: Product liability litigation is the
resulting dispute between those injured
by defective products and ONLY those
who sell the product.
True or False …
$200 Answer
False …
$300 Q: It is NOT permissible to
bring a class action lawsuits
alleging that hundreds have been
hurt by the same defect in the
same product … only an
individual person can bring such
an action …
True or False….
$300 Answer
False ….
$400 Q: If a federal statute expressly or
impliedly preempts a state common law
tort action, that action cannot be brought
in state court
True or False …
$400 Answer
True …
$500 Q: Preemption law is VERY clear, as a
result of the United States Supreme
Court’s recent decisions interpreting it. See
Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 505
U.S. 504 (1992); Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, 518
U.S. 470 (1996).
True or False ….
$500 Answer
False …
Final Jeopardy
Circumstantial evidence is
irrelevant in Product Liability Litigation.
Final Jeopardy Answer
False …