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Products Liability FORUM ARCHIVE

The topic of product liability law arises so often in the media today that some brief explanation of its scope, origins, and impact might prove useful. This short essay is intended to be a primer for those who appreciate the importance of the topic, but would like some guidance on how to think about it more rigorously. . . .  Continue reading...

New York Intermediate Appellate Court Says Punitives Not Possible in Tobacco Case By Michael Krauss, 07-23-2008

"No discovery, no parade of expert witnesses, no jury, and loser pays" By Walter Olson, 07-22-2008

Pennsylvania: retreat from strict product liability urged By Walter Olson, 07-22-2008

A depressing book on antidepressants? By Walter Olson, 07-18-2008

New areas for litigation By Carter Wood, 07-16-2008

LeadPaintLawFirm.com By Walter Olson, 07-15-2008

Preemption: Meanwhile, back at the convention By Carter Wood, 07-08-2008

Preemption: The legislative undermining under way By Carter Wood, 07-08-2008

Gourdine v. Crews By Walter Olson, 06-30-2008

Criminalizing asbestos cases By Carter Wood, 06-27-2008

Meanwhile, fear sweeps the Triad By Carter Wood, 06-23-2008

Another Supreme Court Review of Smoker's Suit By Carter Wood, 06-09-2008

Around the web, June 6 By Walter Olson, 06-06-2008

The mass-tort statute of limitation game By Walter Olson, 05-31-2008

Did Merck settle too generously? By Walter Olson, 05-30-2008

Federal Preemption, the Hearing By Carter Wood, 05-15-2008

On the Hill By Carter Wood, 05-11-2008

Hello? May I Speak to the Victim of the House? By Carter Wood, 05-09-2008

MTBE Settlement Despite Lack of Causation and Fault By Michael Krauss, 05-09-2008

Tort Reform Efforts Continue in Oklahoma By Carter Wood, 05-08-2008

Around the Web, May 4 By Carter Wood, 05-04-2008

The Costs of Lead Paint Hype By Carter Wood, 04-29-2008

Bisphenol A: Chemical Industry Defends Itself, Condemned By Carter Wood, 04-27-2008

Warning of Risk is Unavailing to Drug Maker By Michael Krauss, 04-23-2008

Still Waiting for the Congressional Hearings By Carter Wood, 04-21-2008

Thanks for the Invitation By Carter Wood, 04-21-2008

New featured column: Jim Copland on FDA pre-emption By Walter Olson, 04-14-2008

Rose v Brown & Williamson: Plaintiff's Judgment Quashed on Appeal By Michael Krauss, 04-11-2008

"California Supreme Court Adopts Sophisticated User Defense" By Walter Olson, 04-03-2008

Vaccine lawyer subpoenas Kathleen Seidel By Walter Olson, 04-03-2008

Paul Offit in NYT By Walter Olson, 04-01-2008

Pfizer held liable to reimburse cost of non-Pfizer drugs... By Michael Krauss, 03-24-2008

Medical monitoring in West Virginia By Walter Olson, 03-13-2008

AP: "Carpal tunnel cases are plummeting" By Walter Olson, 03-06-2008

Litigating Backwards By Hans Bader, 02-25-2008

Richard Epstein on Riegel v. Medtronic By Walter Olson, 02-23-2008

Momentous USSC decision in Riegel v Medtronic By Michael Krauss, 02-20-2008

Anticonvulsants and suicidality, cont'd By Walter Olson, 02-18-2008

Suicide risk of anticonvulsants? By Walter Olson, 02-06-2008

Altria departs New York... By Walter Olson, 01-31-2008

Paul Offit podcast By Walter Olson, 01-19-2008

Lead paint lawsuit news By Ted Frank, 01-14-2008

Another thimerosal study... By Walter Olson, 01-08-2008

UK government: "Warning: too much information can harm" By Ted Frank, 01-02-2008

Minnesota as the new Madison County By Michael Krauss, 12-11-2007

Lottery Litigation Dept.: Jeff Tamraz welding verdict By Ted Frank, 12-06-2007

A Vioxx settlement question By Walter Olson, 11-24-2007

Chrysler: this time, we need a jury By Walter Olson, 11-23-2007

Product redesign in the New York courts By Walter Olson, 11-20-2007

$60 Million Damages Award to Sleepy Driver Overturned By Michael Krauss, 11-08-2007

Defense verdict in Thomas case By Walter Olson, 11-06-2007

Non-Manufacturer Owes Duty to Product Consumer, says Federal Court By Michael Krauss, 11-02-2007

Riegel v. Medtronic By Ted Frank, 11-02-2007

Wacky Tobacco By Ted Frank, 11-01-2007

"No alarm on Wall Street over Wyeth case" By Walter Olson, 10-29-2007

Electronic fetal monitoring in the WSJ By Walter Olson, 10-28-2007

Antivaccine mythmongering By Walter Olson, 10-22-2007

Medtronic recall litigation on the horizon By Ted Frank, 10-16-2007

"On vaccines, immune to reason" By Walter Olson, 10-13-2007

New featured column: "Courts thin out lead paint lawsuits" By Walter Olson, 10-05-2007

Nagareda, "Mass Torts in a World of Settlement" By Walter Olson, 10-01-2007

Around the web, September 28 By Walter Olson, 09-28-2007

Rhode Island: paint cos. should pay $2.4 billion for cleanup By Walter Olson, 09-18-2007

WLF on alcohol advertising suits By Walter Olson, 09-15-2007

Emily Bazelon on personal responsibility By Ted Frank, 09-10-2007

Trucking on down to Marshall, Texas By Walter Olson, 09-10-2007

In Defense of Off-Label Drug Use By Michael Krauss, 08-31-2007

Toy recall and medical monitoring By Walter Olson, 08-23-2007

Reaction to Trial Lawyers Inc. lead paint report By Walter Olson, 08-09-2007

Ohio product liability veto undone By Walter Olson, 08-03-2007

Settle? They'da been goners By Walter Olson, 07-29-2007

No Injury Consumer Protection Class Actions By Moin Yahya, 07-19-2007

"Consumer Class Actions Usurping Personal Injury Claims" By Walter Olson, 07-19-2007

MMR vaccine scares By Walter Olson, 07-17-2007

Pharma "litigation for all, and safety for none" By Walter Olson, 06-24-2007

Nigerian copycat tobacco suits By Walter Olson, 06-20-2007

Autism omnibus trial under way By Walter Olson, 06-19-2007

Wrongful Death By Plaintiffs' Lawyers? By Michael Krauss, 06-14-2007

Mo. high court rejects St. Louis lead-paint suit By Walter Olson, 06-13-2007

Tobacco suit stresses race angle By Walter Olson, 06-07-2007

Thimerosal and Autism: Final Round? By Michael Krauss, 06-05-2007

Curlin and the fen-phen scandal By Walter Olson, 06-04-2007

Milwaukee lead-paint suit goes to trial By Walter Olson, 05-31-2007

FDA scandal! Or is it? By Ted Frank, 05-17-2007

More on choice of law and product liability By Walter Olson, 05-11-2007

More on Krauss's choice-of-law approach By Ted Frank, 05-08-2007

St. Louis wants to pursue lead paint action By Walter Olson, 05-03-2007

Federal Choice-of-Law, State Sovereignty, and Products Liability By Michael Krauss, 05-02-2007

NY Court: Statute of Limitations Means What It Says By Michael Krauss, 04-24-2007

The "mercury militia" By Walter Olson, 04-24-2007

Reasons to be Skeptical of Civil Juries By David Bernstein, 04-19-2007

NJ Verdict Demonstrates Absurdity of Punitives By Michael Krauss, 04-19-2007

Methodists back vaccine quackery By Walter Olson, 04-17-2007

Tying one hand behind bioscientists' backs By Walter Olson, 04-13-2007

Michael Krauss on Engle tobacco litigation By Walter Olson, 03-29-2007

New featured column: "The Fear Industrial Complex" By Walter Olson, 03-27-2007

New Trial Ordered in $15M Ford Case By Michael Krauss, 03-23-2007

"Second Thoughts on Breasts" By Ted Frank, 03-21-2007

Chrysler hit with $50M punitives By Michael Krauss, 03-12-2007

More rough weather for tobacco defense By Walter Olson, 03-05-2007

Still more on Philip Morris v. Williams By Ted Frank, 02-28-2007

R.I. judge says paint makers must pay for cleanup By Walter Olson, 02-27-2007

Colorado Home Astroturf By James R. Copland, 02-26-2007

"Worried in America" By Walter Olson, 02-21-2007

More on Philip Morris v. Williams By Ted Frank, 02-20-2007

Initial thoughts on Philip Morris By James R. Copland, 02-20-2007

Philip Morris v. Williams opinion By James R. Copland, 02-20-2007

Oregon Supreme Court Decision Thrown Out By Michael Krauss, 02-20-2007

Adam Liptak on Buell-Wilson By Ted Frank, 02-19-2007

Drugmaker liability in Michigan By Walter Olson, 02-15-2007

"If you can defeat the motion to dismiss, you're 75 percent of the way home." By Michael Krauss, 02-08-2007

Arthur Allen, "Vaccine" By Walter Olson, 02-07-2007

MMR vaccine and autism, cont'd By Walter Olson, 01-21-2007

Canada permits silicone breast implants By Walter Olson, 01-11-2007

"Rollover Economics: Arbitrary and Capricious Product Liability Regimes" By Ted Frank, 01-04-2007

Mississippi Supremes to Hear Ford Appeal By Michael Krauss, 01-03-2007

Plavix: New round of drug suits on the way? By Michael Krauss, 12-22-2006

Garza verdict slashed By James R. Copland, 12-21-2006

Bausch & Lomb MoistureLoc litigation By Ted Frank, 12-19-2006

Those "bad toy" lists By Walter Olson, 12-15-2006

SUV rollover lawsuits By Ted Frank, 12-13-2006

Ohio lead-paint suits, cont'd By Walter Olson, 12-12-2006

When does the statute of limitations run on Tobacco Suits? By Michael Krauss, 12-06-2006

Akron withdraws lead paint lawsuit By Walter Olson, 11-30-2006

Book corner By Walter Olson, 11-29-2006

Driver passes car on curve at 37 mph over posted speed, gets $15M By Michael Krauss, 11-22-2006

"FDA ends ban on silicone breast implants" By Walter Olson, 11-20-2006

Patent Holder Does Not Want to Market Drug in USA By Michael Krauss, 11-13-2006

Turning lead into gold By Ted Frank, 11-11-2006

Garcia v. Ford Motor: "A Valentine's tale" By Walter Olson, 10-20-2006

New featured column: Ted on open-ended litigation By Walter Olson, 10-16-2006

"Anthrax and Lawyers" By Ted Frank, 10-10-2006

Federal Jury finds for Merck in VIOXX case By Michael Krauss, 10-09-2006

Sherwin-Williams strikes back By Walter Olson, 10-09-2006

This one's a real head-scratcher... By Michael Krauss, 10-03-2006

Oct. 12 panel in D.C.: "Mass Fraud in Mass Torts?" By Walter Olson, 10-03-2006

A note on spinach law By Ted Frank, 09-27-2006

Race to the Courthouse... By Michael Krauss, 09-27-2006

"Light" tobacco class action, cont'd By Walter Olson, 09-27-2006

The wrong kind of reform: Arizona and Premier Manufactured Systems By Ted Frank, 09-18-2006

"Ark. jury rejects Prempro suit" By Walter Olson, 09-17-2006

The Headline versus the Text By Michael Krauss, 09-15-2006

R.I./duPont lead pact: charity under scrutiny By Walter Olson, 09-13-2006

More on DOJ tobacco suit ruling By Walter Olson, 09-06-2006

Ted fact-checks a lawn-mower lawsuit By Walter Olson, 08-30-2006

Lead paint lawsuit blogging By Walter Olson, 08-27-2006

More on vaccines at MPT By James R. Copland, 08-25-2006

"Vaccines Are Scarce. Why?" By Ted Frank, 08-25-2006

Trans Fats, Ctd. By Michael Krauss, 07-26-2006

NJ courts' Mass Tort Information Center By Walter Olson, 07-22-2006

Welding and Product Liability By Michael Krauss, 06-28-2006

RI lead paint sidelights By Walter Olson, 06-28-2006

Peter Huber on pharmaceuticals policy By Walter Olson, 06-25-2006

Cali Lead Paint By Sam Munson, 06-23-2006

Antivaccination warriors, jabbed By Walter Olson, 06-23-2006

$111 million demanded over grout fumes By Walter Olson, 06-22-2006

Trial Lawyers, Inc. Update By Sam Munson, 06-20-2006

Allowing interstate competition for health care (and other) law By Michael Krauss, 06-20-2006

After UK vaccine panic, charges of misconduct By Walter Olson, 06-14-2006

More on benzene-in-sodas suits By Walter Olson, 06-08-2006

R.I. Supremes Decline to Decide Due Process/Contingent Fee Challenge By Michael Krauss, 06-05-2006

The "Benzene Scare" -- Coming to a Courtroom Near You? By Michael Krauss, 06-02-2006

More on the Oregon Case Now Before the Supremes By Michael Krauss, 06-02-2006

Update: Supreme Court to review Oregon Philip Morris punitive damages decision By Ted Frank, 05-30-2006

Conference 5/31: "The Value of Play" By Walter Olson, 05-26-2006

Paint litigation: its spreadability By Walter Olson, 05-17-2006

The tangled web of liability in B & L By Larry Ribstein, 05-17-2006

Contact lens solution fungus infections By Walter Olson, 05-11-2006

Judge fines R.I. AG for contempt By Walter Olson, 05-09-2006

More Tobacco Twists And Turns By Sam Munson, 05-08-2006

Blawg Review #56: Sex, Virtual Weddings, and Baseball By James R. Copland, 05-08-2006

"Governor to veto genetic seed liability bill" By Ted Frank, 05-06-2006

RI lead paint verdict By Walter Olson, 04-26-2006

The Worst Disease By Sam Munson, 04-26-2006

Lessons so far from the Vioxx cases By Michael Krauss, 04-24-2006

Maryland lead-paint legislation By Walter Olson, 04-19-2006

The Tobacco Wars By Sam Munson, 04-19-2006

Lawyer Lead-ership By James R. Copland, 04-18-2006

Tobacco Tales, Ctd By Michael Krauss, 04-18-2006

"The Cutter Incident" on C-SPAN2 By Ted Frank, 04-13-2006

Court: Coke should have warned of fizziness By Walter Olson, 04-13-2006

Michigan's FDA defense law By Walter Olson, 04-11-2006

McDarby: Gilmartin to testify By James R. Copland, 04-06-2006

Merck loses in McDarby case By James R. Copland, 04-05-2006

Lead Paint Fights Back By Sam Munson, 04-05-2006

Rhode Island lead paint By Ted Frank, 04-02-2006

Here Comes The Sunscreen Suit By Sam Munson, 03-31-2006

First West Coast Vioxx Cases By Sam Munson, 03-27-2006

Can Businesses Be Sued Even When They Have Met FDA Requirements? By Ted Frank, 03-21-2006

Associated Press on obesity litigation By Walter Olson, 03-19-2006

Global tobacco settlement exhausted punitives By Walter Olson, 03-17-2006

One vaccine lawsuit -- and the damage it did By Walter Olson, 03-15-2006

Sykes rebukes Wisconsin high court By Walter Olson, 03-10-2006

Lead paint follies By Walter Olson, 03-08-2006

Defective Because Effective By Michael Krauss, 03-06-2006

No punitives in R.I. lead paint case By Walter Olson, 03-02-2006

Offit, "The Cutter Incident" By Walter Olson, 02-28-2006

Jury deliberating in RI lead paint retrial By Walter Olson, 02-17-2006

Safety standards and federal pre-emption By Walter Olson, 02-17-2006

Playground design and liability By Walter Olson, 02-16-2006

BREAKING NEWS: Oregon Supreme Court affirms 151:1 punitive:compensatory damages ratio v. Philip Morris By Ted Frank, 02-02-2006

Idiots can harm themselves through Ipod, lawsuit says By Michael Krauss, 02-02-2006

NHTSA pre-emption draws protest from 26 AGs By Walter Olson, 01-25-2006

Welding rod shenanigans By Walter Olson, 01-22-2006

Wisconsin liability trip By Walter Olson, 01-21-2006

Forbes on welding rod litigation By Walter Olson, 01-09-2006

CRC on Environmental Working Group By Walter Olson, 12-16-2005

Taser on Trial By Michael Krauss, 12-12-2005

Welding: Boren loses; Dewey Morgan caught lying By Ted Frank, 12-09-2005

Ortho Evra, cont'd By Walter Olson, 12-07-2005

GM CEO: Lawsuit abuse a competitive disadvantage By James R. Copland, 12-06-2005

Correcting Wisconsin's high court By Walter Olson, 11-23-2005

Welding lawsuit in Madison County: manganese and Parkinson's By Ted Frank, 11-21-2005

ATLA blocking avian flu bill By Walter Olson, 11-17-2005

Ortho-Evra By Walter Olson, 11-15-2005

Refusing vaccines By Walter Olson, 11-11-2005

"Paint by Lawyer" By Walter Olson, 11-07-2005

Another AG assails Oxycontin maker By Walter Olson, 11-05-2005

Merck wins one! By James R. Copland, 11-03-2005

"A very dangerous lawsuit": the tactics of Mikal Watts By Ted Frank, 11-02-2005

Silicosis affair -- typical? By Walter Olson, 10-12-2005

Update: Jasper popcorn suits settle By Ted Frank, 10-09-2005

Terror in Tater Tot Town By Walter Olson, 10-07-2005

Toxically blonde By Walter Olson, 10-04-2005

Something in the water at Harvard? By Walter Olson, 09-30-2005

Mississippi fen-phen scandal By Walter Olson, 09-28-2005

NHTSA pre-emption: trial lawyers hit the roof By Walter Olson, 09-08-2005

Richard Epstein v. Mark Lanier By Walter Olson, 08-30-2005

Kinsley on Ernst v. Merck By Ted Frank, 08-29-2005

Teflon and PFOA By Walter Olson, 08-26-2005

Feminists for choice By Walter Olson, 08-23-2005

"Rodzilla" and trade association liability By Walter Olson, 08-22-2005

Parade of new blogs By Walter Olson, 08-21-2005

Wisconsin's lawless high court By Walter Olson, 08-11-2005

Learning the Wrong Lessons from "An American Tragedy" By David Bernstein, 08-08-2005

Energy bill passes, sans MTBE shield By James R. Copland, 07-29-2005

New from the Washington Legal Foundation By James R. Copland, 07-29-2005

Lying with Statistics - Ernst v. Merck edition By Ted Frank, 07-29-2005

Update: Popcorn flavoring suits II By Ted Frank, 07-20-2005

More on Michigan medical monitoring decision By James R. Copland, 07-18-2005

Michigan rejects medical monitoring By Walter Olson, 07-18-2005

"Snuff Out This Silly Suit" By Walter Olson, 06-29-2005

EPCOT center ride death By Walter Olson, 06-16-2005

"Invaluable" By Walter Olson, 06-13-2005

Lawyers doing their jobs By Walter Olson, 06-11-2005

Expanding drug liability -- retroactively By Walter Olson, 05-07-2005

You're in the anti-obesity army now By Walter Olson, 05-06-2005

Gun suits and the Dormant Commerce Clause By Walter Olson, 04-25-2005

"Pathological science" By Walter Olson, 04-23-2005

FDA mulls breast implant return By Walter Olson, 04-13-2005

Pfizer pulls Bextra By James R. Copland, 04-07-2005

Illinois municipalities bail on Crown Vic suit By Michael DeBow, 03-22-2005

On the Supreme Court's docket By Walter Olson, 03-14-2005

DuPont's Teflon travails By Walter Olson, 03-08-2005

Agent Orange is back... By James R. Copland, 02-28-2005

"Side Effects of the Drug Scares" By Walter Olson, 02-28-2005

"A Well-Oiled Machine" By Walter Olson, 02-15-2005

Post hoc ergo propter hoc By Walter Olson, 02-08-2005

Fen-phen's spiral By Walter Olson, 02-02-2005

Obesity suit reinstated By Walter Olson, 01-31-2005

Update: British Medical Journal embarrassed By Ted Frank, 01-28-2005

MTBE's cash leak By Walter Olson, 01-28-2005

Tabarrok, Surowiecki on Vioxx By James R. Copland, 01-27-2005

2nd Circuit weighs in By James R. Copland, 01-26-2005

Myrna Blyth's "Spin Sisters" By Walter Olson, 01-24-2005

"Pharmaceuticals the next victim?" By Walter Olson, 01-21-2005

British Medical Journal embarrassed By Walter Olson, 01-18-2005

Bob Herbert at it again By James R. Copland, 01-14-2005

"Demonizing for Dollars" By Walter Olson, 12-29-2004

Ohio enacts wide-ranging liability reforms By Walter Olson, 12-20-2004

P.R. by Fenton By Walter Olson, 12-07-2004

Olson on obesity By James R. Copland, 12-03-2004

WSJ on obesity study flaws By James R. Copland, 11-30-2004

Chrysler to appeal $102 million verdict By James R. Copland, 11-24-2004

Growth areas By Walter Olson, 11-12-2004

Warning label madness By Walter Olson, 10-31-2004

Ephedra retailer litigation, cont'd By Walter Olson, 10-28-2004

Ephedra retailer litigation By Walter Olson, 09-23-2004

Boeken: Campbell equals win for MO By James R. Copland, 09-22-2004

Plaintiff's bar: let us handle your criminal defense By Walter Olson, 09-17-2004

Not quite beach reading but still good... By Leah Lorber, 09-02-2004

Kentucky high court vacates $15M punitive award By Leah Lorber, 08-29-2004

From the archives: benefits of product liability By Walter Olson, 08-27-2004

Junk science in asbestos litigation By James R. Copland, 08-17-2004

Double Hurdles By Ted Frank, 08-16-2004

Why Stella Liebeck is important By Ted Frank, 08-04-2004

Rebuked asbestos judge joins asbestos advisory firm By James R. Copland, 07-30-2004

Tobacco appeal bond update: the Empire State enters the fray? By James R. Copland, 07-26-2004

Pre-Emption and the FDA By Michael Krauss, 07-26-2004

Popcorn butter: suppliers win one By Walter Olson, 06-30-2004

The nullification crisis of 2004? By James R. Copland, 06-15-2004

Wall Street Journal highlights asbestos bankruptcy scams By James R. Copland, 06-03-2004

Ninth Circuit allows gun lawsuit to proceed By James R. Copland, 05-28-2004

Nissan headlights By Ted Frank, 05-19-2004

"The Last Rung" By Walter Olson, 05-17-2004

Vaccines, cont'd By Walter Olson, 05-16-2004

From a kit (no lawyer included) By Walter Olson, 05-16-2004

AEI: Lawsuits without Injuries? By Ted Frank, 05-16-2004

McDonald's coffee revisited By Ted Frank, 05-16-2004

Silica lawsuits: castles from sand By Walter Olson, 05-15-2004

Back at the old test-rigging game By Walter Olson, 05-15-2004

Chicago lead paint case dismissed By Walter Olson, 05-14-2004

Tobacco recoupment suit loses in France By Walter Olson, 05-14-2004

"Why does the gun industry deserve special protection?" By Walter Olson, 05-14-2004

Market-share liability: now prove you're innocent By Walter Olson, 05-14-2004



MORE ON PRODUCTS LIABILITY

Featured Discussion

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The Liability Maze: The Impact of Liability Law on Safety and Innovation


Liability: The Legal Revolution and Its Consequences


Modern Products Liability Law



Articles

How should the Law of Products Liability be Harmonized? What Americans Can Learn from Europeans


The Path to the T.J. Hooper: Of Custom and Due Care


Products Liability: The Gathering Storm



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