Court Opinion

ID: 9628153
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 09:09:43.052996+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:05:19.545106
License: Public Domain

Brachtenbach, J.
(concurring with the dissent) — I concur with the result and the reasoning of the dissent, but suggest that there is no conceptual difficulty in merging strict liability with comparative negligence.
To avoid the conceptual difficulty, the comparison can be denominated as comparative fault rather than comparative negligence. See Uniform Comparative Fault Act § 1 (promulgated 1977). Although the negligence of a manufacturer's conduct in supplying a defective chattel is not examined under strict products liability, whether the product is defective nevertheless involves a concept of fault. Carestía, The Interaction of Comparative Negligence and Strict Products Liability — Where Are We? 47 Ins. Counsel J. 53, 63 (1980). The fault of a manufacturer is measured solely by the characteristics of the product he has produced, rather than his behavior. "Putting out a product that is dangerous to the user or the public . . . involves a measure of fault that can be weighed and compared, even though it is not characterized as negligence." Uniform Comparative Fault Act, comment to § 1.
Hicks, J., concurs with Brachtenbach, J.