Product liability - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Product liability

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Product liability Background Product liability in the EU prior to the directive Tort law fault based liability Contract law Only available to parties to the ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Product liability


1
Product liability
2
Background
  • Product liability in the EU prior to the
    directive
  • Tort law fault based liability
  • Contract law
  • Only available to parties to the contract
  • Warranties - sometimes also available to third
    parties

3
The directive 1985/374 on liability for defective
products
  • Basic idea strict liability
  • Purpose
  • avoid distortion of competion and
  • protect consumers
  • Type of directive?
  • Coverage
  • Certain types of product liability cases
  • Non exhaustive regulation
  • Allows for two stringed systems (art.13)

4
Basic liability principles
  • Cases covered by the directive
  • Strict liability
  • Art. 1
  • The producer shall be liable for damage caused by
    a defect in his product
  • Mandatory liability regime (art. 12)
  • Supplemental liability regimes
  • Tort law fault liability
  • Contract law

5
Concepts
  • Product (art. 2)
  • movables
  • agricultural products amendment (Directive
    1999/34)
  • information?

6
  • Defect (art. 6)
  • No distinction between different types of defects
    such as
  • fabrication defects
  • design defects
  • failure to warn
  • One unifying concept The safety which a person
    is entitled to expect
  • Cirumstances which must be taken into account
  • The presentation of the product
  • The use to which it could reasonably be expected
    that the product would be put
  • The time when the product was put into
    circulation

7
  • put into circulation (art. 7 (a))
  • C-203/99 Henning Veedfald v. Århus Amtskommune
  • C-127/04 Declan O Byrne v. Sanofi Pasteur MSD
    LTD
  • for economic purposes (art. 7( c ))
  • C-203/99 Henning Veedfald v. Århus Amtskommune

8
  • Producer (art. 3)
  • Manufacturer of the finished product, etc. (para
    1)
  • Someone who represents himself as the producer
    (para 1)
  • The EU importer (para 2)
  • The supplier, if the producer or importer is
    unknown (para 3)
  • The supplier?
  • C-402/03 (Skovæg)

9
  • The Skovæg decision, C-402/03
  • The problem
  • The two questions referred to the ECJ
  • Transfer to the supplier of the producers no
    fault liability
  • Transfer to the supplier of the producers fault
    liability
  • The underlying problems which the ECJ has to
    address

10
  • Damage (art. 9)
  • Death and personal injuries
  • Property damage, provided the item is a type
    ordinarily intended for private use or
    consumption and in fact used in this way
  • Property other than the defective product
  • Threshold of 500 ECU
  • Other types of damage?
  • C-285/08 Société Moteurs Leroy Somer v. Société
    Ace Europe

11
  • The state of the art defence (art. 7(e))
  • That the state of scientific and technical
    knowledge at the time when he put that product
    into circulation was not such as to enable the
    existence of the defect to be discovered

12
  • C-300/95 Commission v. United Kingdom
  • The problem
  • The test
  • Knowledge in the specific industrial sector or
    knowledge in general?
  • Subjective or objective standard?
  • Level of knowledge?
  • Accesibility

13
  • National decisions
  • German decison (1995) NJW 1995.2162,
    Mineralwasserflasche, (scope of application of
    the state of the art defence)
  • Dutch decision (1999) NJI 1999.621, Scholten v.
    Sanguin Blood Supply Foundation (The requirement
    the existence of the defect cannot be
    discovered)
  • English decision (2001) 3 All ER 289, A and
    others v. National Blood Authority (The
    requirement the existence of the defect cannot
    be discovered)

14
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