Opinion ID: 739908
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: causation; separability from azzarello analysis

Text: 62 In a footnote in its opinion, the district court indicated that, although contributory negligence is irrelevant in a strict liability case, consideration of Surace's conduct in wearing the earplugs and turning his back to the machine was appropriate as part of the Azzarello threshold analysis to the extent that it bears on causation. Surace, 1995 WL 495123 at  8 n. 10. We hold that it was error for the district court to have weighed the issue of causation as a factor in resolving the legal question of risk allocation. 63 There are two elements to a strict liability claim. The plaintiff must establish that: (1) the product was defective; and (2) the defect was a proximate cause of the injury. See Berkebile, 337 A.2d at 898. It is only the first element that a court must address as part of the Azzarello threshold analysis. See Azzarello, 480 Pa. at 556-58, 391 A.2d at 1025-26; see also Hon v. Stroh Brewery Co., 835 F.2d 510, 512-13 n. 3 (3d Cir.1987) (focusing on whether the product was defective under Azzarello and specifically declining to address proximate cause); Phillips v. A-Best Prods. Co., 542 Pa. 124, 131, 133 n. 7, 665 A.2d 1167, 1171, 1171 n. 7 (1995) (noting that its decision rested not on whether the product was defective under Azzarello, but rather on the lack of causation). This threshold analysis focuses on the condition of the product at the time it is marketed, and whether that condition justifies placing the risk of loss on the manufacturer. Azzarello, 480 Pa. at 559, 391 A.2d at 1027. 64 If the plaintiff ultimately proves that the product is defective, then the distinct question of whether the defect proximately caused the injury must be resolved. Pacheco v. Coats Co., 26 F.3d 418, 422 (3d Cir.1994); see generally Wade, supra, at 842-43. Should the court determine that the defect was not a legal cause of the injury, then the defendant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Although the district court followed the correct methodology in balancing the profiler's inherent risks against its utility, it erred in factoring the specific circumstances surrounding the cause of the injury into this threshold inquiry.