Bill Text: PA SB372 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Providing for liability rules applicable to product sellers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 12-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-02-20 - Referred to JUDICIARY [SB372 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SB372-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 370
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 372 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY BAKER, FOLMER, PICCOLA, EARLL, SMUCKER, RAFFERTY, BRUBAKER, EICHELBERGER, WONDERLING, WAUGH, M. WHITE AND D. WHITE, FEBRUARY 20, 2009
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 20, 2009
AN ACT
Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for liability
rules applicable to product sellers.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
§ 8320.1. Liability rules applicable to product sellers.
(a) General rule.--In a product liability action, a product
seller other than a manufacturer shall not be liable for damages
resulting in death, injury to person or property or economic
loss unless the plaintiff establishes at least one of the
following:
(1) The product which allegedly caused the harm
complained of by the plaintiff was sold by the product
seller, the product seller failed to exercise reasonable care
with respect to the product before placing the product in the
stream of commerce and the failure to exercise reasonable
care was a proximate cause of the harm complained of by the
plaintiff. For purposes of this paragraph, a product seller
shall not be considered to have failed to exercise reasonable
care with respect to the product based upon an alleged
failure to inspect a product where there was no reasonable
opportunity to inspect the product in a manner which, in the
exercise of reasonable care, would have revealed the aspect
of the product which allegedly caused the harm complained of
by the plaintiff.
(2) The product seller made an express warranty
applicable to the product which allegedly caused the harm
complained of by the plaintiff independent of an express
warranty made by a manufacturer as to the same product, the
product failed to conform to the seller's express warranty
and the failure of the product to conform to the seller's
express warranty caused the harm complained of by the
plaintiff.
(3) The product seller, before placing the product in
the stream of commerce, exercised significant control over
the design, manufacture, packaging or labeling of the product
related to the alleged defect in the product which caused the
harm complained of by the plaintiff.
(4) The product seller, before placing the product in
the stream of commerce, knew or reasonably should have known
of the defect in the product which caused the harm complained
of by the plaintiff or the product seller was in possession
of facts from which a reasonable person would conclude that
the product seller had or should have had knowledge of the
alleged defect in the product which caused the harm
complained of by the plaintiff.
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(5) The product seller engaged in intentional wrongdoing
which was a proximate cause of the harm complained of by the
plaintiff.
(6) The product seller, before placing the product in
the stream of commerce, held itself out as the manufacturer
to the user of the product, in which case the product seller
shall be liable as though the product seller were the
manufacturer of the product.
(b) Rental and leases.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, a product seller who is engaged in the business of
renting or leasing a product shall be subject to liability
pursuant to subsection (a) but shall not be liable to a
plaintiff for the tortious act of another solely by reason of
ownership of the product.
(c) Certification of manufacturer identity.--
(1) In a product liability action against a product
seller, the product seller may file an affidavit certifying
the correct identity of the manufacturer of the product which
allegedly caused the injury, death or damage.
(2) The product seller shall exercise due diligence in
providing the plaintiff with the correct identity of the
manufacturer.
(d) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
subsection:
"Manufacturer." A person who:
(1) Produced, created, made or constructed the product
or component part of the product.
(2) Designed or formulated the product or component part
of the product or engaged another person to design or
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formulate the product or component part of the product.
"Product seller." A person who, in the course of a business
conducted for that purpose, sells, distributes, rents, leases,
prepares, packages, labels or otherwise is involved in placing a
product in the stream of commerce.
Section 2. This act shall apply to all actions instituted on
or after the effective date of this act.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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