CPCU 7

• 1. defective manufacture or assembly - faulty materials in manufacture or errors in assembly.
• 2. defective design - the product is not resonably safe for its intended or reasonably foreseeable purpose and is unresonably dangerous.
• 3. failure to warn of all forseeable dangers to all forseeable users

• 1. state of the art - no known way of making the product safer
• 2. compliance with statues and regulations
• 3. compliance with the buyer's specifications - unless the defect is obvious
• 4. open and obvious danger - knives, guns, and gasoline.
• 5. plantiff's knowledge
• 6. assumption of risk - the plantiff knowlingly and voluntarily subject himself to the risk.
• 7. product misue
• 8. alteration of product
• 9. written disclaimers
• note: written disclaimers are a valid defense in contractual breach of warranty actions but are not valid defense in strict liability actions. Passive negligence (failure to check for defects0 is not a defense.

Common law claims for personal injury and property damage and statutory claims for cleanup of and damage to natural resources.

traditional tort cases to compensate individuals for damges caused by toxic substances.

• 1. FIFRA (federal insecticide, fungicide and rodenticide act - regulates pesticides.
• 2. Clean Air Act - estabilshes national emisson standards for airborne pollutants.
• 3. Clean Water Act - federal water pollution control act - regulates discharges into US waters.
• 4. Toxic Substances Control Act - regulates the testing, manufacturing and distribution of toxic substances
• 5. RCRA (resource cnservation and recovery act) regulates all stages of the hazardous waste cycle.
• 6. CERCLA (comprehsive environmental resource, compensation, and liability act - allocated 1.6 billion to the Superfund to study and remediate hazardous waste sites on the NPL (national priority list). This was ncreased to 8.5 billion under SARA)

• 1. generators - those who crated the toxic substance.
• 2. transporters - those who take it to its buyer or to ist disposal site.
• 3. current owners and operators of hazardous waste facilities, and
• 4. past owners and operators of hazardous waste facilities

• 1. Nominal damages, often $1, ar granted for vilated tort rights without financial consequncs, such as unitentional trespass, especially by young children.
• 2. Compensatory damages compensate the plantiff. they include
• a. special damages - money quantifiable losses for lost wages, medical bills and damaged property
• b. general damages - nonquantifialbe money losses for pain and suffering; for permanent injuries and loss of companionship.
• c. emotional distress damages for mental or emothional pain that accompanied by physical injury
• d. bad faith damages - where the defendant acted unreasonably, either knowingly or with complete disregard of other's rights.
• e. wrong ful death damges based on the deceased's human life value - paid to his dependents, not to his estate.
• 3. Punitive damages - punish the defendant and eter him and others form repeating such represhisible acts as bad faith, malice, or deceit.

All people (including minors, the insane, and the intoxicated0 are liable for their torts regardless of their mental capacities. but if the tort requires intent, the defedant can present a defense based on lack of capacity to form intent.

All states have these laws that provide that a person who provides gratuitous emergency services at an accident scene is judged by a good faith standard and is not liable for ordinary negligence.

• 1. Numerosity - the group is so large that it is ipractical to try the cases separately.
• 2. Commonality - the group has a well-fefined common interest in the issues of law and fact.
• 3. Typicality - the claims and defenses of represntative parties are typical of all class members.
• 4. Adequacy of represntation - the representaive parties failry and completently represent the class.

they requie that actions be brought within a limited time period to prevent the facts of the case from becoming excessively stale and witnesses from becoming excessively dead.

it bars tort suits initiated more than a stated period (often two years) after the cause of action accrued (all elements of the cause of action first existed).

it bars tort suits initiated more than a stated period - often six years - after the date of the breach of the duty to exercise resonable care. Note that the statute of repose may expire befor ethe cause of action accrues.

• 1. by appontment and agreement - most agencies are created by the principal apponting the agent and the agent agreeing to the appointment.
• 2. by estopple - if a person puts a second person in a postion where a resonable t hird person who think that agency exists.
• 3. by ratificatin - principal retroactively authorizes and act or agreement beyond the original scope of the agency.

• 1. expresses authority - based on the prinicipals specific instructions
• 2. implied authority - based on the prinipals prior conduct or trade custom
• 3. emergency autority - based on the need to protect the pinicipals interests but limited by what a resonable agent would believe a reaonable principal would expect.