Table of Contents 23.1 Overview of Strict Products Liability Law in Arizona23.2 Strict Liability 23.2.1 Application of the Consumer Expectation Test 23.2.2 Risk/Utility Principles23.3 Interface with Comparative Fault23.4 Used Products23.5 Advantages for Plaintiff Who Pleads Negligence23.6 Advantages for a Defendant When the Plaintiff Pleads Negligence23.7 Breach of Warranty 23.7.1 Transactions in Goods 23.7.2 Express Warranties 23.7.3 Implied Warranties 23.7.4 Disclaimers 23.7.5 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act 23.7.6 Arizona Motor Vehicle Warranties Act23.8 Statutory Limitations 23.8.1 Statutes of Limitations Applicable to Product Liability Actions 23.8.2 Statutes Governing Production Liability Suits Regarding Immunizations23.9 The Parties to Litigation 23.9.1 Ultimate User, Consumer, or Bystander 23.9.2 Plaintiffs Damaged by Injury to a Third Party 23.9.3 Manufacturers and Sellers 23.9.4 Sellers of Used Goods 23.9.5 Lessors and Secured Parties 23.9.6 Assemblers 23.9.7 Component Parts Manufacturers 23.9.8 Successors23.10 Indemnification and Tender of Defense23.11 What Types of Products?23.12 Prescription Drugs23.13 Commercial Loss23.14 The General Rule for At Fault Parties23.15 Alternative Liability 23.15.1 Concert of Action 23.15.2 Industry-Wide/Enterprise Liability 23.15.3 Market Share Liability23.16 How to Prove a Product Defect 23.16.1 Manufacturing 23.16.2 Design Defects23.17 General Elements 23.17.1 What Makes a Product Defective? 23.17.2 Causation23.18 State-of-the-Art Evidence23.19 Other Similar Incidents23.20 Elements of a Failure-to-Warn Claim 23.20.1 Adequacy of Warnings 23.20.2 Manufacturer’s Duty to Warn 23.20.3 Causation in Failure to Warn 23.20.4 Who Must Be Warned? 23.20.5 Component Part Manufacturers 23.20.6 Post-Sale Duty to Warn 23.20.7 Unavoidable Unsafe Products23.21 Defenses to a Product Liability Case 23.21.1 Comparative Fault/Contributory Negligence 23.21.2 Assumption of the Risk 23.21.3 Misuse 23.21.4 Product Alteration/Substantial Change Doctrine 23.21.5 Government Contractor Defense 23.21.6 Statute of Limitations/Statute of Repose 23.21.7 Plaintiff’s Conduct as a Defense to a Product Defect 23.21.8 Intoxication or Drug Use 23.21.9 Criminal Acts 23.21.10 Seat Belt Defense23.22 Preemption23.23 Economic Loss Rule23.24 Pretrial Discovery and Evidentiary Issues 23.24.1 Preservation of Evidence 23.24.2 Confidentiality Orders 23.24.3 Expert Witnesses 23.24.4 Relevancy 23.24.5 Subsequent Remedial Measures 23.24.6 Evidence of Manufacturer’s Due Care or Quality Control in the Manufacturing Process 23.24.7 Admissibility of Evidence of Compliance or Noncompliance with Government Regulations23.25 Punitive Damages in a Products Liability Case
| Format | Title | File Size | Page Count |
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| Products Liability Jury Instructions | 256 KB | 14 | |
| Torts: Products Liability | 880.64 KB | 97 |
is a shareholder, member of the Gallagher & Kennedy board of directors and co-leader of the firm's Plaintiff's Personal Injury & Wrongful Death practice group. For nearly two decades, Shannon has been a tireless advocate for victims of negligent and wrongful conduct throughout Arizona and around the United States. His passionate commitment to the rights of injured or wronged individuals has garnered in excess of $250,000,000 in jury verdicts, arbitration awards, mediation results and negotiated settlements for personal injury, wrongful death and legal and medical malpractice clients. Beyond helping his clients obtain compensation for devastating injuries and personal tragedy, Shannon also assists clients with many of the (often non-legal) details of putting their lives back together and moving forward. From the beginning of his career at Gallagher & Kennedy in 2000, Shannon has been drawn to legal matters that allowed him to advocate for individuals who have been harmed in some way through the fault of others. As a member the firm's highly skilled and successful Plaintiff's Personal Injury and Wrongful Death team, Shannon gained invaluable experience in high-profile cases at the state and national levels. Shannon is deeply committed to his clients, and his effort extends beyond the intricacies of any given lawsuit to champion consumer safety issues for greater social impact. While commanding the fortitude, experience, resources and overall "fire in the belly" needed to take on major manufacturers and institutional defendants, Shannon remains unfailingly sensitive to the human element of each case he handles. He approaches his clients as people first, which makes him broadly effective in understanding his clients' challenges and advocating their causes.
G. James Goodnow, a Harvard Law graduate, practices in the area of plaintiffs’ catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation at Fennemore Craig. Newsweek showcased him as one of “20 Leaders” among “Plaintiffs’ Trial Lawyers” in the United States. The Phoenix Business Journal named him to its “40 Under 40” list of Arizona leaders. He has been featured in stories run by leading publications and news organizations around the world, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, ABC News, USA Today, The Financial Post, The Arizona Republic, and The ABA Journal. He has been a member of the trial teams that have secured some of the largest awards in U.S. history, including a $410 million jury trial verdict. He has achieved the highest possible peer-review rating: AV Preeminent. Opposing attorneys call him a “rising star” and “leader in litigation” who “has an extraordinary ability to grasp complex legal concepts” and who “takes on the hard, important cases fearlessly.” He chairs the firm’s Managing Litigation Technology Committee, co-chairs the firm’s Advocacy Training Program and co-chairs the firm’s Retention Committee.
Steven Gross is a litigator and has extensive experience handling complex insurance coverage, professional liability, and catastrophic personal injury defense matters. Mr. Gross serves as national and regional coverage counsel for two large insurance carriers and has appeared in state and federal courts in Arizona, California, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Jersey, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Alaska, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Virginia, South Dakota, South Carolina, North Carolina, Utah, and California. Mr. Gross speaks and writes frequently on insurance law topics and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America since 2019 in the areas of Insurance and Insurance Litigation. He is a contributing author for Couch on Insurance 3d, a nationally recognized authoritative treatise on insurance law often recognized and relied upon by courts and attorneys throughout the United States. He is also authored chapter 9 of Practical Tools for Handling Insurance Cases which aims to filter complex insurance coverage issues into an easily readable and digestible format for attorneys across the country and is published by West in 2011. Mr. Gross is one of the two managing authors and editors selected by the Arizona State Bar to create the Arizona Tort Law Handbook which has sold hundreds of copies to lawyers throughout the State of Arizona. He has published over twenty articles relating to insurance coverage, liability defense, and claims practices including chapter eight of the national Claims Adjuster’s Automobile Liability handbook published by West in 2009. He has been listed by Southwest Super Lawyers since inception and maintains an AV Preeminent rating with Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Gross maintains an active CPCU “Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter” certification through The Institutes.
is a senior member of The Cavanagh Law Firm in Phoenix where he maintains a national insurance coverage and extra-contractual defense practice. He has an LL.M. in Insurance from the University of Connecticut. He is the current successor author to COUCH ON INSURANCE 3D and has written other treatises on insurance law. He has published in excess of 350 law reviews and other professional publications on insurance law, in addition to several national insurance law treatises. He has been cited by the Supreme Courts of 34 states, the Intermediate Appellate Courts in 23 states, 12 of the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, 60 Federal District Courts, and the Federal Court of Claims. He has been cited in 95 scholarly articles. He has been continuously listed as a top 50 lawyer in Arizona (2007-2020) by Southwest Super Lawyers®. Only a few lawyers have been continuously on the list since its inception. He is recognized as a "Business Leader" (insurance) by Arizona Business Magazine and has been listed by Arizona Business Magazine as one of the top 100 lawyers in Arizona. Mr. Plitt has been listed in Best Lawyers® since 2007 (10+ years) (insurance) and was named the Insurance Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers® in 2012 and 2017 for Phoenix. He is also listed in Best Lawyers for the topic "Litigation - Insurance," and was the Lawyer of the Year in this category in 2020. He is a Fellow in the American College of Coverage and Extra-contractual Counsel. He is a Member of the American Law Institute where he was a consultative member on the development of the Restatement of Liability Insurance. He is a nationally recognized expert witness in insurance claim handling and bad faith cases and has been retained as an expert in hundreds of cases venued in 33 states. He is a former adjunct Professor of Law at ASU College of Law teaching insurance law. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Arizona where he teaches insurance law.
MARC H. LAMBER, a director at Fennemore Craig and a Martindale Hubbell AV preeminent rated trial attorney (highest peer-review rating), specializes in plaintiffs’ catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation in Arizona and across the country. He formed the plaintiff personal injury (PI) practice at the firm, and has spent the past 20 years developing it. He is chair of the PI practice, as well as the vice-chair of litigation and chief diversity officer. Mr. Lamber has been recognized as a leader in the personal injury context, including his innovative and effective use of technology (iPads, video demand packages, the “red phone,” etc.). He has been featured in national and local media, including USA Today, ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the ABA Journal, the Arizona Republic and many others. He was featured by Newsweek as one of the “20 Leaders Plaintiffs’ Trial Lawyers.” He was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2012 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America” in the area of personal injury litigation. Over the last 20 years, Mr. Lamber has represented a multitude of accident victims resulting in a plethora of successful jury trials, arbitrations, mediations and settlements. He has recovered tens of millions of dollars for his clients. He originally began his practice at Fennemore Craig as a defense attorney.