Opinion ID: 2520989
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Strict Products Liability and Comment K in Utah

Text: ¶ 16 This court expressly adopted the doctrine of strict products liability set forth in section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts (1965) in Hahn v. Armco Steel Co., 601 P.2d 152, 158 (Utah 1979). Section 402A reads: (1) One who sells any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer or to his property is subject to liability for physical harm thereby caused to the ultimate user or consumer, or to his property, if (a) the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product, and (b) it is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (1965). We have since applied section 402A to require that in order to recover on strict liability against a seller, the plaintiff must prove (1) that a defect or defective condition of the product made it unreasonably dangerous, (2) that the defect was present at the time of the product's sale, and (3) that the defective condition was the cause of the plaintiff's injuries. Interwest Constr. v. Palmer, 923 P.2d 1350, 1356 (Utah 1996). ¶ 17 This court recognized an exception to strict liability for manufacturers and sellers of unavoidably unsafe products when it adopted the reasoning of comment k to section 402A in Grundberg v. Upjohn Co., 813 P.2d 89 (Utah 1991). Comment k, known as the unavoidably unsafe products doctrine, recognizes that [t]here are some products which, in the present state of human knowledge, are quite incapable of being made safe for their intended and ordinary use. Id. at 91 (quoting Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A cmt. k (1965)). Such products, according to comment k, cannot subject a seller to strict liability for defects if prepared, distributed, and marketed properly and with appropriate directions and warnings. ¶ 18 Based on this reasoning, we held in Grundberg that prescription drugs cannot, as a matter of law, be defective if approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and properly prepared, compounded, packaged, and distributed. Id. at 90. We are persuaded that all prescription drugs should be classified as unavoidably dangerous in design because of their unique nature and value, the elaborate regulatory system overseen by the FDA, the difficulties of relying on individual lawsuits as a forum in which to review a prescription drug's design, and the significant public policy considerations noted in Brown [concerning the financial and social costs of imposing strict liability]. Id. at 94. Thus, under Utah law, comment k shields manufacturers and sellers of prescription drugs from strict liability based on allegations of a design defect. ¶ 19 However, comment k does not extinguish strict liability claims based on manufacturing flaws or inadequate warnings. Id. at 92. Thus, this court protected manufacturers and sellers of prescription drugs from strict liability design defect claims while clearly assigning them the duty to warn of the risks associated with the use of their products.