Opinion ID: 1432329
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: alternate liability

Text: Alternate liability arose as a cure for plaintiff causation problems. Prosser, at 243. The theory was introduced in Summers v. Tice, 33 Cal.2d 80, 199 P.2d 1, 5 A.L.R.2d 91 (1948) and incorporated in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 433B(3), at 441-42 (1965): Where the conduct of two or more actors is tortious, and it is proved that harm has been caused to the plaintiff by only one of them, but there is uncertainty as to which one has caused it, the burden is upon each such actor to prove that he has not caused the harm. In its classic application, the theory requires each hunter who negligently shot at plaintiff to prove that his bullet did not cause the injury. Failing such proof, both are liable. Summers, at 88. The rule of Summers requires that in cases where all defendants are equally culpable, and their negligence precludes an innocent plaintiff from identifying them, basic considerations of fairness demand that the burden of proof shift from plaintiff to defendant. Defendants unable to meet the burden of proof are found jointly and severally liable. Alternate liability has been recognized, but not as of yet applied in this state. See Clift v. Nelson, 25 Wn. App. 607, 608 P.2d 647, review denied, 93 Wn.2d 1030 (1980); Phennah v. Whalen, 28 Wn. App. 19, 621 P.2d 1304 (1980), review denied, 95 Wn.2d 1026 (1981). In Clift, the court held that alternate liability was inapplicable because the plaintiff could not establish that all named defendants had been tortious and the possibility that the tortious act was committed by a party not named as a defendant. Several DES cases have discussed alternate liability as a means of providing DES plaintiffs with a cause of action. In Abel v. Eli Lilly & Co., 418 Mich. 311, 343 N.W.2d 164 (1984), the trial court denied the plaintiffs a cause of action for failing to identify which of the named defendants had manufactured the specific harmful product. The two theories argued on appeal were concerted action and alternate liability. The basis of the alternate liability theory was that all defendants acted wrongfully in producing and marketing a defective product, and that each plaintiff was injured by the product of one of the several defendants. The plaintiffs argued that because all defendants acted wrongfully, even though only one actually caused the injury, all should be jointly and severally liable just as were the hunters in Summers. Recognizing that the plaintiffs faced an enormous burden of proof as well as the problem of apportionment of damages if they were to prevail, the Michigan court nevertheless allowed the cause of action to proceed. Its decision was premised on the expressed policy of favoring an innocent plaintiff over a wrongdoer when injustice was inevitable. As distinguished from other DES litigation where the theory of alternate liability had been asserted, the plaintiffs in Abel alleged that they had named all the known manufacturers of DES whose products were distributed during the relevant time period, and that one or more of the named defendants had caused the harm. Abel, 343 N.W.2d at 174. This allegation that all the defendants were before the court most likely facilitated the court's acceptance of the alternate liability theory as sufficient to state a cause of action. A showing that all possible tortfeasors are before the court was not required, however, in one DES case. A New Jersey superior court, in Ferrigno v. Eli Lilly & Co., 175 N.J. Super. 551, 420 A.2d 1305 (1980), interpreted existing New Jersey law to allow the plaintiffs to proceed on a theory of alternate liability despite a failure to show that all potential defendants were before the court. The court held that under existing New Jersey law a plaintiff's cause of action survives an inability to identify the precise causative agent and the possibility that the precise causative agent is not among the defendants before the court. Ferrigno, at 567. The court also proposed strong policy reasons to justify allowing the suit to proceed, one of which was the favoring of recovery by innocently injured plaintiffs over allegedly culpable defendants. If the DES plaintiff proved her allegations, it reasoned, none of the defendants could be considered truly innocent. The judge also relied on the New Jersey single indivisible injury rule, which essentially tolerates the possibility that one wrongdoer can escape liability altogether while another tortfeasor may be compelled to pay more than his actual share of the damages ... Ferrigno, at 570. The decision did, however, enumerate specific methods by which a defendant in a DES case could exculpate itself. Among the methods enumerated were: identification of the actual manufacturer; proof that defendant company never manufactured the drug involved; proof that defendant did not manufacture DES until after the plaintiff's birth; proof that the product never reached the outlet where the plaintiff's mother purchased the DES; or proof that defendant never manufactured a drug of the physical description indicated by the plaintiff. Ferrigno, at 571-72. In conclusion, the court in Ferrigno found that existing New Jersey precedent allowed acceptance of the theory of alternate liability in DES cases where the defendant cannot be identified or may not actually be before the court. In contrast to Ferrigno, other courts have not recognized the alternate liability theory. The New Jersey Superior Court, appellate division, in Namm v. Charles E. Frosst & Co., 178 N.J. Super. 19, 427 A.2d 1121 (1981), rejected the reasoning of the lower court in Ferrigno and dismissed the claim before it on the ground that it was possible that the company which had actually made the particular injury-causing DES had not even been named as a defendant. The court went on to say that to apply the alternate liability theory would result in the taking of the property of all the named defendants in order to pay for harm which may have been caused by only one of the defendants or even by one who is not a party to the lawsuit, who is unknown to the defendants, over whom they have no control or even any meaningful contact. Namm, at 33. The court indicated that any departure from traditional concepts and basic principles of tort law should be undertaken by the court of last resort and not by the appellate division. The California Supreme Court in Sindell v. Abbott Labs., 26 Cal.3d 588, 607 P.2d 924, 163 Cal. Rptr. 132, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 912 (1980), held that the traditional alternate liability theory of Summers, as incorporated in the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 433B(3) (1965), could not be employed to hold drug manufacturers liable in DES actions where all possible defendants were not before the court. Sindell, at 602-03. Accord, Pipon v. Burroughs-Wellcome Co., 532 F. Supp. 637, 638-39 (D.N.J. 1982); Ryan v. Eli Lilly & Co., 514 F. Supp. 1004, 1016 (D.S.C. 1981); Morton v. Abbott Labs., 538 F. Supp. 593, 598-99 (M.D. Fla. 1982). The Wisconsin Supreme Court in Collins v. Eli Lilly Co., 116 Wis.2d 166, 342 N.W.2d 37, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 83 L.Ed.2d 51, 105 S.Ct. 107 (1984) rejected the traditional alternate liability theory because it contemplated that all possible defendants be before the court. Collins, at 183-84. The court did, however, adopt a risk contribution theory which may be considered a modification of alternate liability. The court held that the plaintiff need commence suit against only one defendant and allege the following elements: [1] that the plaintiff's mother took DES; [2] that DES caused the plaintiff's subsequent injuries; [3] that the defendant produced or marketed the type of DES taken by the plaintiff's mother; [4] and that the defendant's conduct in producing or marketing the DES constituted a breach of a legally recognized duty to the plaintiff. In the situation where the plaintiff cannot allege and prove what type of DES the mother took, as to the third element the plaintiff need only allege and prove that the defendant drug company produced or marketed the drug DES for use in preventing miscarriages during pregnancy. Collins, at 193-94. The court fashioned this remedy on the grounds that as between an innocent plaintiff and the defendants, who may have provided the product and all who contributed to the risk of injury to the public, the interests of justice and fundamental fairness demand that the latter should bear the cost of injury. Collins, at 191. The court further held that the defendants may implead third party defendants, and defendants have the burden of proving that they did not produce or market the subject DES, either during the time period the plaintiff was exposed to DES or in the relevant geographic market area. The plaintiff is entitled to recover all damages from the one defendant, or in the situation where there are multiple defendants, plaintiff should recover from each their proportionate share of liability under principles of comparative negligence. Collins, at 193-200. In sum, the short history of DES litigation shows that the alternate liability theory is not accepted in those jurisdictions which follow the traditional rules of products liability. Those courts demand that a defendant, that is, the manufacturer or distributor of the drug, be identified as the causal agent for plaintiff's injury. Although some courts have found this theory applicable, they have done so under only two conditions: (1) where the plaintiff can show all of the defendants were before the court, or (2) where not all of the defendants were joined but strong policy reasons and the single indivisible injury or risk contribution rules could be applied. We find persuasive the commentators and courts that have concluded that strict application of alternate liability theory does not present a viable theory for DES cases. The alternate liability theory formulation contemplates that all tortious defendants will be joined in the suit. Thus, the court can be sure that at least one of the defendants was directly responsible for the plaintiff's harm. The alternate liability formula does not, in its pure form, provide a fair way to apportion damages among the defendants. Under the alternate liability theory, defendants that produced or marketed small amounts of DES and those that produced or marketed large amounts would be equally liable.