Opinion ID: 776872
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: New York Law of Negligent Design

Text: 23 The New York Court of Appeals has established that a manufacturer is obligated to exercise that degree of care in his plan or design so as to avoid any unreasonable risk of harm to anyone who is likely to be exposed to the danger when the product is used in the manner for which the product was intended. Micallef v. Miehle Co., 39 N.Y.2d 376, 384 N.Y.S.2d 115, 348 N.E.2d 571, 577 (1976). The court explained that [w]hat constitutes reasonable care will ... involve a balancing of the likelihood of harm, and the gravity of harm if it happens, against the burden of the precaution which would be effect to avoid the harm. Id. at 577-78 (internal quotation marks omitted). 24 As applied to the facts of this case, the jury charge on negligent design restated this standard as comprising three elements: (1) that the cruise control system in the 1991 Aerostar was defective when put on the market by Ford; (2) that the defect made it reasonably certain that the vehicle would be dangerous when put to normal use; and (3) that Ford failed to use reasonable care in designing the cruise control system or in inspecting it or testing it for defects, or that even though Ford used reasonable care in designing, inspecting and testing the cruise control system in the 1991 Aerostar, that Ford learned of the defect before putting the product on the market and did nothing about it. 25 The New York Court of Appeals has held that a plaintiff's failure to prove why a product malfunctioned does not necessarily prevent a plaintiff from showing that the product was defective. In Codling v. Paglia, 32 N.Y.2d 330, 345 N.Y.S.2d 461, 298 N.E.2d 622 (1973), a four-month-old car driven by Paglia suddenly and inexplicably drifted across the road's dividing line into oncoming traffic. Id. at 624. Chrysler, in defending the suit, stressed that Paglia had failed to prove any specific defect — emphasizing in particular the inadequacy of the plaintiff's post-accident tests to demonstrate a specific defect. Id. at 625. The New York Court of Appeals rejected this argument and upheld an instruction to the jury on breach of warranty that explained: 26 While the burden is upon the plaintiff to prove that the product was defective and that the defect existed while the product was in the manufacturer's possession, plaintiff is not required to prove the specific defect, especially where the product is complicated in nature. Proof of necessary facts may be circumstantial. Though the happening of the accident is not proof of a defective condition, a defect may be inferred from proof that the product did not perform as intended by the manufacturer.... 27 Id. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals affirmed the jury's conclusion that the steering mechanism of the automobile was not fit for the purpose for which it was intended. Id. at 338, 345 N.Y.S.2d 461, 298 N.E.2d 622. 28 A later New York Court of Appeals case similarly rejected the contention that a plaintiff injured by an exploding can of Freon had failed to make out a prima facie breach of warranty claim when no particular defect in the packaged refrigerant was ever discovered. Halloran v. Virginia Chemicals Inc., 41 N.Y.2d 386, 393 N.Y.S.2d 341, 361 N.E.2d 991 (1977). The court stated that 29 if plaintiff has proven that the product has not performed as intended and excluded all causes of the accident not attributable to defendant, the fact finder may, even if the particular defect has not been proven, infer that the accident could only have occurred due to some defect in the product or its packaging. 30 Id. at 993. 31 The same principles hold in products liability actions brought under a theory of negligent design. See, e.g., Gargano v. Rosenthal, 100 A.D.2d 534, 473 N.Y.S.2d 225, 227 (2d Dep't 1984) (citing Halloran in finding that causes of action for products liability, including those under theories of negligence, breach of warranty, and strict liability, may be proven through circumstantial evidence, by showing that the vehicle's transmission and gearshift did not perform as intended and by excluding all causes of the accident not attributable to [defendants'] conduct); Hunter v. Ford Motor Co., 37 A.D.2d 335, 325 N.Y.S.2d 469, 471 (3d Dep't 1971) ([A]lthough in both actions in negligence and breach of warranty a plaintiff must come forward with evidence of a defect, existence of the causative defect is provable by circumstantial evidence. The precise defect need not be named and proved; it is sufficient if the cumulation of circumstances and inferences... supports the conclusion that there was a defect which caused the accident.); see also Sanders v. Quikstak, Inc., 889 F.Supp. 128, 131 (S.D.N.Y.1995) (citing Halloran in stating that to prove negligence, breach of warranty, and strict products liability under New York law, [d]espite an absence of proof of any specific defect in a product, a jury may infer that an accident occurred because of a defect when the plaintiff has proven that the product did not perform as intended and has excluded all causes of the accident not attributable to the defendant). 6 32