Anderson v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp
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Anderson v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp | |
Court | Supreme Court of California |
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Citation | 53 Cal.3d 987 810 P.2d 549 281 Cal.Rptr. 528 |
Date decided | May 30, 1991 |
Facts
Defendants were manufacturers of products containing asbestos, and the plaintiff contracted lung ailments through exposure to asbestos while working as an electrician.
Procedural History
The court of appeal allowed the admissibility of state of the art evidence to proffer evidence of knowability.
Issues
Whether a defendant in a products liability action based upon a failure to warn of a risk of harm may present evidence of the state of the art.
Whether knowability is an element of a failure-to-warn strict liability case.Whether admitting state of the art evidence improperly infuses negligence concepts into strict liability cases by directing the trier of fact’s attention to the conduct of the manufacturer rather than to the condition of the product.Rule
The courts require knowledge, actual or constructive, of potential risk or danger before imposing strict liability for a failure to warn. Therefore the state of the art may be relevant to the question of knowability, and should be admissible.
Knowledge or knowability is a component of strict liability for failure to warn.