Insurance Business America

Amazon faces strict liability test after defective battery sparks $3.9M fire

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a decision filed on April 27, 2026, punted a potentially industry-shaping question to ...
JD Supra

Does Strict Liability Apply When You’re Injured by Exposure to Toxic Chemicals?

It is becoming almost impossible to avoid being exposed to multiple different chemicals on a daily basis. Companies use them to make their environments look and smell cleaner, to keep pests away, and ...
JD Supra

Pennsylvania Stays in a Minority of Two States in Prohibiting Evidence of Compliance With Government and Industry Standards in Products Liability Design Defect Cases

Just before Christmas, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court delivered a lump of coal to products liability defendants: Sullivan v. Werner Co., 2023 WL 8859656 (Pa. Dec. 22, 2023), affirming a lower court ...
Law

'Erie' and Pa.'s Exclusion of Evidence of Compliance With Government Standards

Any products liability defendant will attest to the importance of compliance with regulatory standards. Lack of such compliance would be a vulnerability, perhaps even resulting in negligence per se.
Law

Pa. Evidence: What About the Proof That a Product Meets Industry or Government Standards?

Currently pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the question whether in the defense of a product defect case, the manufacturer or seller may introduce evidence that its product was designed ...