California ruling makes liability cases tougher to prove.California consumers took a hit from the state's highest court, whose 6-1 decision eroded e·rode v. e·rod·ed, e·rod·ing, e·rodes v.tr. 1. To wear (something) away by or as if by abrasion: Waves eroded the shore. 2. To eat into; corrode. jurors' ability to hold manufacturers accountable for injuries caused by complex machinery. The ruling arose from a case in which a woman, Terri Soule, was severely injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. in a 1984 car wreck. The head-on collision A head-on collision is one where the front ends of two ships, trains, planes or vehicles hit each other, as opposed to a side-collision or rear-end collision. Rail transport With rail, a head-on collision often implies a collision on a single line railway. slammed the floorboard of her 1982 Chevrolet Camaro into the passenger compartment, crushing her ankles. She now walks with a permanent limp. At trial, the jury sided with Soule. The jurors deemed that the car was defective on the grounds that its design fell below the safety expectations of an ordinary consumer. On appeal, the state supreme court found that the trial judge should not have instructed the jury to use this "consumer expectation test." However, it decided that the error was harmless in Soule's case. (Soule v. General Motors Corp., No. S033144 (Cal. Oct. 27, 1994).) In its opinion, the majority expanded on the test issue. Justice Marvin Baxter, writing for the majority, said that trial judges in cases involving complex machinery should replace the "consumer expectation" test with the more restrictive "risk-benefit analysis risk-benefit analysis, n the consideration as to whether a medical or surgical procedure, particuarly a radical approach, is worth the risk to the patient compared with the possible benefits if the procedure is successful. ." That analysis requires that jurors decide liability based not on consumer expectation but on expert evidence presented at trial. "GM wanted the court to do away with the consumer expectation test entirely," said Soule's attorney, Frank Barbaro of Santa Ana, California Santa Ana is the most populous city in Orange County, California and is the county seat. It lies approximately 10 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, on the largely seasonal Santa Ana River. . "[GM] said a consumer can't have a reasonable expectation of how a car should crush because the machinery is so complex. The court agreed, but only in complex machinery cases. I don't think it would apply to an exploding Bic lighter or a sudden acceleration case involving a car." Barbaro said many plaintiffs' attorneys believe the ruling puts the state court "back in the Dark Ages." "This decision takes away one of the tools that consumers have and replaces it with a test that presents a much more difficult task for the jury," he said. "It doesn't change the mental gymnastics gymnastics, exercises for the balanced development of the body (see also aerobics), or the competitive sport derived from these exercises. Although the ancient Greeks (who invented the building called a gymnasium the juror juror n. any person who actually serves on a jury. Lists of potential jurors are chosen from various sources such as registered voters, automobile registration or telephone directories. has to go through, but rather it adds to the difficulty." |
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