Opinion ID: 2093927
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Consumer-Expectation Test

Text: As noted above, under the consumer-expectation test, a plaintiff may prevail if he or she demonstrates that the product failed to perform as an ordinary consumer would expect when used in an intended or reasonably foreseeable manner. In the case at bar, there is a threshold question. Whose expectations control, i.e., the adult purchaser or the child user? Calles argues we must apply the consumer-expectation test from the point of view of a child. We disagree. For purposes of the consumer-expectation test, ordinary modifies consumer. Ordinary means [r]egular; usual; normal; common. Black's Law Dictionary 989 (5th ed.1979). See also 1 Madden & Owens on Products Liability § 8:3, at 71 (Supp.2006) (ordinary consumer applies to the customary or usual consumer of the product). See also Swix v. Daisy Manufacturing Co., 373 F.3d 678, 686 (6th Cir. 2004) (`[t]he focus is the typical user's perception and knowledge' [citation] (emphasis added)). Several courts in other jurisdictions have held that the ordinary consumer of a lighter is an adult, not a child. See, e.g., Talkington v. Atria Reclamelucifers Fabrieken BV, 152 F.3d 254, 263 (4th Cir.1998) (applying South Carolina law); Curtis v. Universal Match Corp., 778 F.Supp. 1421, 1425 (E.D.Tenn. 1991), aff'd, 966 F.2d 1451 (6th Cir.1992); Kelley v. Rival Manufacturing Co., 704 F.Supp. 1039, 1043 (W.D.Okla.1989); Welch v. Scripto-Tokai Corp., 651 N.E.2d 810, 814 (Ind.App.1995); Bellotte v. Zayre Corp., 116 N.H. 52, 54, 352 A.2d 723, 725 (1976). In light of these cases, we hold that the ordinary consumer of a lighter, such as the Aim N Flame here, is an adult  the typical user and purchaser. Therefore, the expectations regarding the Aim N Flame's use and safety must be viewed from the point of view of the adult consumer. We now consider whether the Aim N Flame meets the consumer-expectation test. The purpose of a lighter, such as the Aim N Flame, is to produce a flame. See T. Peters & H. Carroll, Playing with Fire: Assessing Lighter Manufacturers' Duties Regarding Child Play Lighter Fires, 9 Loy. Consumer L. Rep. 339, 340 (1997). Clearly then, the ordinary consumer would expect that, when the trigger is pulled, a flame would be produced. Here, the Aim N Flame was not used in its intended manner, i.e., by an adult. Thus, the question is whether it was used in a reasonably foreseeable manner. We find that it was. An ordinary consumer would expect that a child could obtain possession of the Aim N Flame and attempt to use it. Thus, a child is a reasonably foreseeable user. Likewise, an ordinary consumer would appreciate the consequences that would naturally flow when a child obtains possession of a lighter. See M. Madden, Products Liability, Products for Use by Adults, and Injured Children: Back to the Future, 61 Tenn. L.Rev. 1205, 1222 (Summer 1994). Specifically, an ordinary consumer would expect that the Aim N Flame, in the hands of a child, could cause the result that occurred here  the starting of a fire that led to injury to a child. See, e.g., Flock v. Scripto-Tokai Corp., 319 F.3d 231, 242 (5th Cir.2003) (Texas law); Curtis, 778 F.Supp. at 1430 (Tennessee law); Bondie v. BIC Corp., 739 F.Supp. 346, 349 (E.D.Mich.1990); Williams v. BIC Corp., 771 So.2d 441, 449-50 (Ala.2000); Welch, 651 N.E.2d at 814; Price v. BIC Corp., 142 N.H. 386, 390, 702 A.2d 330, 333 (1997); Campbell v. BIC Corp., 154 Misc.2d 976, 978, 586 N.Y.S.2d 871, 873 (1992); Perkins v. Wilkinson Sword, Inc., 83 Ohio St.3d 507, 513, 700 N.E.2d 1247, 1252 (1998); Hernandez v. Tokai Corp., 2 S.W.3d 251, 258 (Tex.1999). Under the facts of this case, the Aim N Flame performed as an ordinary consumer would expect  it produced a flame when used in a reasonably foreseeable manner, i.e., by a child. This leads to the inescapable conclusion that the ordinary consumer's expectations were fulfilled. In other words, the Aim N Flame did not fail to perform as an ordinary consumer would expect when used in a reasonably foreseeable manner. Thus, as a matter of law, no fact finder could conclude that the Aim N Flame was unreasonably dangerous under the consumer-expectation test. Therefore, Calles cannot prevail under this theory. This does not end our analysis however. Though the Aim N Flame satisfies the consumer-expectation test, it may, nonetheless, be deemed unreasonably dangerous under the risk-utility test.