Opinion ID: 807056
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Design Defect Theory

Text: Roman’s argument that no rational jury could have withheld liability on the design fails. Section 9:2800.56 provides in part that: A product is unreasonably dangerous in design if, at the time it left its manufacturer’s control: (1) There existed an alternative design for the product that was capable of preventing the claimant’s damage; and (2) The likelihood that the product’s design would cause the claimant’s damage and the gravity of that damage outweighed the burden on the manufacturer of adopting such alternative design and the adverse effect, if any, of such alternative design on the utility of the product. . . . Thus, the statute required Roman to prove (i) that an alternative design existed at the time Western manufactured the Predator Pump, and (ii) “that the risk avoided by using the alternative design (magnitude of damage discounted by the likelihood of its occurrence) would have exceeded the burden of switching to the alternative design (added construction costs and loss of product utility).” Lawrence, 73 F.3d at 590 (quotation marks and citation omitted). 20 No. 10-31271 Roman offered two possible alternative designs at trial – safety cables and heavier duty fittings. Roman made no serious effort to evaluate these measures’ risk/utility, as required by the LPLA. See id. There was also testimony by Western’s general manager that the Cam-Lok coupling conformed to industry standards. Little more was shown about the heavy duty fittings than that they would have increased the “safety factor ratio.” The evidence as to safety cables was even weaker. Though Western’s manager stated he had seen safety cables used by customers, he was testifying about fireproofing machines, not stucco pumps. As Western notes as to both, Roman failed to “address the burdens or adverse utility effects of his proposed changes.” Smith v. Louisville Ladder Co., 237 F.3d 515, 520 (5th Cir. 2001). In Lawrence, we held that such a shortcoming rendered the evidence “insufficient as a matter of law to support a finding of design defect.” Lawrence, 73 F.3d at 590 (plaintiff’s expert testimony that “alternative design would have been obviously inexpensive and easily implemented” held insufficient under LPLA).