Direct Source International Inc. V. Rhonda Robins

Case #2 Case Brief: Direct Source International Inc. v. Rhonda Robins

Issue:

Was an improper judgment ruled against the defendant (Direct Source International Inc.) by the trial court in the belief that under the terms of strict product liability, the defendant produced a defective product?

Rule:

In this case, under the presiding jurisdiction’s law Section 402A of the Restatement of Torts provides that any person engaged in the business of selling products for use or consumption may be held strictly liable for injuries to the user or consumer of such product, as long as:

1. Product was defective: Liability is imposed for products sold “in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer. A product may be unreasonably dangerous because of a defect in manufacturing, marketing, or design.

2. Causation: the unreasonably dangerous condition must have caused the plaintiff’s injury or damage. The defect must have been a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s injury.

Application:

In order for the defendant to successfully appeal, they must prove that the cigarette lighter they manufactured was not defective in manufacturing, marketing, and design. In this case, the plaintiff (Robins) alleged at trial court that the product was defective in all three areas. However, according to the decision rendered by the trial court and affirmed by the court of appeals, the product was not defective in either manufacturing or marketing.

For the product to be defective in manufacturing, the defendant would have had to produce the product in a way that would have rendered it unreasonably dangerous and therefore defective. The defendant’s production process of the cigarette lighter however, did not deviate from the normal production process of these lighters in any unsafe manner that would have caused the lighter to be defective, and in this case the plaintiff argues that the design of the product itself is dangerous, therefore...