Opinion ID: 1983858
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Modification or Alteration of Products.

Text: Next, we turn to RSA 507-D:3 (Supp. 1979), which provides that a defendant may be held liable only for harm that would have occurred if the product had been used in its unaltered and unmodified condition and shall not be held liable for harm arising in any part from alteration and modification of the product by another. Alterations or modifications based on the manufacturer's specifications or instructions do not bar the plaintiff's cause of action. The plaintiffs maintain that this section violates the equal protection provisions of our State Constitution in two respects. First, they argue that the challenged provision denies persons injured by modified or altered products the same right to recover for personal injuries that is available to other products liability plaintiffs. Second, they contend specifically that RSA 507-D:3 (Supp. 1979) impermissibly distinguishes between persons injured as a result of product modification and persons injured as a result of product misuse. For the reasons stated below, we rule section three of the products liability statute to be unconstitutional. [15, 16] Under our decision in Thibault v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 118 N.H. 802, 395 A.2d 843 (1978), the parties to a products liability action are entitled to have the jury  compare the causal effect of the defect in the product or design with the affirmative defense of misconduct of the plaintiff and allocate the loss .... Id. at 813, 395 A.2d at 850 (emphasis added). RSA 507-D:3 (Supp. 1979), however, provides that a defendant shall not be held liable for harm arising in any part from alteration and modification of the product by another. (Emphasis added.) This provision thus operates to establish an absolute defense in products liability cases where the modification or alteration of the product contributes in any way to the plaintiff's injury, regardless of the dangerousness of the product or the insignificance of the modification. Consequently, RSA 507-D:3 (Supp. 1979) denies to persons injured by modified products the same right of apportionment and at least partial recovery provided to all other products liability plaintiffs in Thibault. [17, 18] Moreover, RSA 507-D:3 (Supp. 1979) distinguishes impermissibly between plaintiffs injured by modified products and plaintiffs injured by misused products. Under current New Hampshire law, a plaintiff may recover some percentage of his damages where his misuse of a product did not contribute more to the accident than did the manufacturer's conduct, and the misuse is found to have been foreseeable to the manufacturer. This holds true whether the product is misused by the plaintiff, see Thibault v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 118 N.H. at 809, 395 A.2d at 847, or by a third party, see Reid v. Spadone Mach. Co., 119 N.H. 457, 465, 404 A.2d 1094, 1099 (1979). In contrast, RSA 507-D:3 (Supp. 1979) by its own terms bars recovery altogether by plaintiffs whose misconduct takes the form of modification or alteration not in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications or instructions, irrespective of how foreseeable such a modification may have been. [19] The overall effect of RSA 507-D:3 (Supp. 1979) is both arbitrary and inequitable. For example, the statute would totally bar recovery by the plaintiff in case No. 82-170, who was injured when using a modified Sears tool, simply because a modification contributed to the injury. Yet if the same plaintiff had received the identical injury as a result of actually misusing an unmodified wrench, he would be entitled to sue the manufacturer and have the jury consider the foreseeability of such misuse in the balance of comparative responsibility. As we noted in Thibault, the term plaintiff's misconduct includes, where applicable, product misuse or abnormal use as well as the older concept of assumption of the risk or voluntarily and unreasonably proceeding to encounter a known danger. 118 N.H. at 812, 395 A.2d at 849. Obviously, whether modified or not by a plaintiff, a product may be misused or altered from its foreseeable use to such a degree as to absolve the manufacturer of liability. But these are questions of fact to be resolved by the trier of fact. [20] While RSA 507-D:3 (Supp. 1979) may result in some slight benefit to manufacturers, such an effect is clearly outweighed by the severe restriction of plaintiff's rights to recover for injuries caused by modified or altered products. See Carson v. Maurer, 120 N.H. at 936-37, 424 A.2d at 833-34. We conclude that RSA 507-D:3 (Supp. 1979) denies equal protection of the laws under the New Hampshire Constitution and is therefore invalid.