Articles

Manufacturers need not design accident-proof machines or warn against obvious dangers

September 01, 2016 | By DEBORAH LA FETRA

A Minnesota hog farming operation, VZ Hogs LLP, uses an extruder manufactured by Sebright Products, Inc., to separate liquids from solid mass. When the extruder jammed, several workers tried to unjam it. The employer never trained them how to unjam the machine. Nereus Montemayor climbed into the machine while it was still connected to its … ...

Articles

Texas Supreme Court : No tort liability for intentional misuse of a Genie lift

May 08, 2015 | By DEBORAH LA FETRA

Today, the Texas Supreme Court held in Genie Industries v. Matak that when people intentionally misuse a product in a way that is obviously dangerous, the manufacturer is not liable for the injuries that inevitably result from that intentional misuse. PLF filed an amicus brief in the case. The case arose when a church in … ...

Articles

Tort law remains a mess in Pennsylvania

November 21, 2014 | By DEBORAH LA FETRA

Pity the Pennsylvania lawyers who practice tort law.  Or, pity their clients, who will be billed for their attorneys’ time spent reading the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s 136-page magnum opus on strict liability law, issued yesterday in the form of a 4-2 opinion deciding Tincher v. Omega Flex, Inc.  A bloated law review article masquer ...