I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2518 
To prevent undue disruption of interstate commerce by limiting civil actions 
brought against persons whose only role with regard to a product in 
the stream of commerce is as a lawful seller of the product. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 20, 2009 
Mr. BOREN (for himself, Mr. JORDAN of Ohio, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. DUNCAN, 
Mr. SOUDER, and Mr. BURTON of Indiana) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To prevent undue disruption of interstate commerce by lim-
iting civil actions brought against persons whose only 
role with regard to a product in the stream of commerce 
is as a lawful seller of the product. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Innocent Sellers Fair-
ness Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) it is unfair for a seller to be held respon-
sible under the doctrine of product liability for dam-
ages that the seller did not cause; 
(2) as a result of product liability, sellers are 
often brought into litigation despite the fact that 
their conduct had nothing to do with the accident or 
transaction giving rise to the lawsuit, and may 
therefore face increased and unjust costs due to the 
possibility or result of unfair and disproportionate 
damage awards; 
(3) due to high liability costs and unwarranted 
litigation costs, sellers face higher costs in pur-
chasing insurance through interstate insurance mar-
kets to cover their activities; 
(4) liability reform for sellers will promote the 
free flow of goods and services, lessen burdens on 
interstate commerce, and decrease litigiousness; and 
(5) legislation to address these concerns is an 
appropriate exercise of the powers of Congress under 
clauses 3, 9, and 18 of section 8 of article I of the 
Constitution of the United States, and the 14th 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 
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SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY OF PRODUCT SELLERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—No seller of any product shall be 
liable for personal injury, monetary loss, or damage to 
property arising out of an accident or transaction involv-
ing such product, unless the claimant proves one or more 
of the following non-sale activities by the seller: 
(1) The seller was the manufacturer of the 
product. 
(2) The seller participated in the design of the 
product. 
(3) The seller participated in the installation of 
the product. 
(4) The seller altered, modified, or expressly 
warranted the product in a manner not authorized 
by the manufacturer. 
(b) LIABILITY FOR NON-SALE ACTIVITIES.—If the 
claimant proves one or more of the non-sale activities de-
scribed in subsection (a) and such non-sale activity was 
negligent, the seller’s liability shall be limited to the per-
sonal injury, monetary loss, or damage to property directly 
caused by such non-sale activity. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) MANUFACTURER.—The term ‘‘manufac-
turer’’ means a person who is lawfully engaged in 
the business of manufacturing a product in inter-
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state or foreign commerce during such person’s reg-
ular course of trade or business. 
(2) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any 
individual, corporation, company, association, firm, 
partnership, society, joint stock company, or any 
other entity, including any governmental entity. 
(3) SELLER.—The term ‘‘seller’’ means a per-
son who is lawfully engaged in the business of mar-
keting, distributing, advertising, or selling a product 
in interstate or foreign commerce during such per-
son’s regular course of trade or business. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall apply to any 
civil action involving a product that was sold to the claim-
ant on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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