Opinion ID: 1391927
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Allocating the Burden of Proof.

Text: The court of appeals imposed upon the plaintiffs the burden of proving that the farm equipment was defective when it left the warrantor's (Ford's) control, i. e., before it came into the custody of Baldridge or any intermediate shipper. In our view, this burden of proof-when applied to a transaction between a typical consumer and a franchised dealer for a remote manufacturer-reflects unrealistic expectations. Unlike conditions in less complex times, today's typical consumer has no means of discovering whether the product of a remote manufacturer was defective when it left the factory, or at what point in the multi-step manufacturing-delivery process the defect was introduced. At best the ordinary buyer is able to become aware only after delivery to the buyer that the product is defective. See generally Morrow v. New Moon Homes, Inc., 548 P.2d 279, 289 (Alaska 1976); Henningsen v. Bloomfield Motors, Inc., 32 N.J. 358, 161 A.2d 69 (1960); Kassab v. Central Soya, 432 Pa. 217, 246 A.2d 848, 853 (1968). To impose an impossible or unreasonably onerous burden of proof is to deny many consumers a meaningful remedy. Thus, a plaintiff's burden should be no more than to establish that the defect arose in the course of manufacturer-distribution and before the plaintiff purchased the item. [3] A plaintiff who claims breach of warranty, therefore, should be able to satisfy the burden of proof by evidence that at the time of purchase or acquisition the product was flawed in a manner constituting a breach of warranty, and damages resulted. See 2 Frumer and Friedman, Products Liability, § 16A(4)(e)(iii) at 117. Manufacturers, distributors, and sellers in the chain usually have greater access to information identifying a defect's source than does the buyer. Moreover, they are in a position to protect themselves against losses from conduct of another in the chain, as by hold harmless and indemnity agreements or other contractual arrangements. [4] Injustice would result from denying a claim for relief for breach of warranty when one of several defendants clearly was responsible for the defect giving rise to the breach, but the plaintiff cannot prove which one. Procedural rules governing burden of proof and burden of going forward with the evidence are intended to facilitate the truth-seeking process of trial, and thus to facilitate justice. Requiring each defendant in the chain of distribution to show that the product was not defective when it left its control imposes no unreasonable burden on defendants. Such a procedure simply redistributes the burden to those who have superior knowledge of the truth and better access to evidence. We conclude that the plaintiffs' burden is limited to showing that a defect existed at the time the farm implement in question first came into the plaintiffs' possession. The evidence was more than adequate to satisfy that burden.