PRINTER'S NO. 777
No. 705 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY BAKER, CORMAN, PICCOLA, RAFFERTY, FOLMER, EARLL, BRUBAKER, WAUGH AND ARMSTRONG, MARCH 29, 2007
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, MARCH 29, 2007
AN ACT 1 Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the 2 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for liability 3 rules applicable to product sellers. 4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 5 hereby enacts as follows: 6 Section 1. Title 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated 7 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read: 8 § 8320.1. Liability rules applicable to product sellers. 9 (a) General rule.--In a product liability action, a product 10 seller other than a manufacturer shall not be liable for damages 11 resulting in death, injury to person or property or economic 12 loss unless the plaintiff establishes at least one of the 13 following: 14 (1) The product which allegedly caused the harm 15 complained of by the plaintiff was sold by the product 16 seller, the product seller failed to exercise reasonable care 17 with respect to the product before placing the product in the 18 stream of commerce and the failure to exercise reasonable
1 care was a proximate cause of the harm complained of by the 2 plaintiff. For purposes of this paragraph, a product seller 3 shall not be considered to have failed to exercise reasonable 4 care with respect to the product based upon an alleged 5 failure to inspect a product where there was no reasonable 6 opportunity to inspect the product in a manner which, in the 7 exercise of reasonable care, would have revealed the aspect 8 of the product which allegedly caused the harm complained of 9 by the plaintiff. 10 (2) The product seller made an express warranty 11 applicable to the product which allegedly caused the harm 12 complained of by the plaintiff independent of an express 13 warranty made by a manufacturer as to the same product, the 14 product failed to conform to the seller's express warranty 15 and the failure of the product to conform to the seller's 16 express warranty caused the harm complained of by the 17 plaintiff. 18 (3) The product seller, before placing the product in 19 the stream of commerce, exercised significant control over 20 the design, manufacture, packaging or labeling of the product 21 related to the alleged defect in the product which caused the 22 harm complained of by the plaintiff. 23 (4) The product seller, before placing the product in 24 the stream of commerce, knew or reasonably should have known 25 of the defect in the product which caused the harm complained 26 of by the plaintiff or the product seller was in possession 27 of facts from which a reasonable person would conclude that 28 the product seller had or should have had knowledge of the 29 alleged defect in the product which caused the harm 30 complained of by the plaintiff. 20070S0705B0777 - 2 -
1 (5) The product seller engaged in intentional wrongdoing 2 which was a proximate cause of the harm complained of by the 3 plaintiff. 4 (6) The product seller, before placing the product in 5 the stream of commerce, held itself out as the manufacturer 6 to the user of the product, in which case the product seller 7 shall be liable as though the product seller were the 8 manufacturer of the product. 9 (b) Rental and leases.--Notwithstanding any other provision 10 of law, a product seller who is engaged in the business of 11 renting or leasing a product shall be subject to liability 12 pursuant to subsection (a) but shall not be liable to a 13 plaintiff for the tortious act of another solely by reason of 14 ownership of the product. 15 (c) Certification of manufacturer identity.-- 16 (1) In a product liability action against a product 17 seller, the product seller may file an affidavit certifying 18 the correct identity of the manufacturer of the product which 19 allegedly caused the injury, death or damage. 20 (2) The product seller shall exercise due diligence in 21 providing the plaintiff with the correct identity of the 22 manufacturer. 23 (d) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following 24 words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this 25 subsection: 26 "Manufacturer." A person who: 27 (1) Produced, created, made or constructed the product 28 or component part of the product. 29 (2) Designed or formulated the product or component part 30 of the product or engaged another person to design or 20070S0705B0777 - 3 -
1 formulate the product or component part of the product. 2 "Product seller." A person who, in the course of a business 3 conducted for that purpose, sells, distributes, rents, leases, 4 prepares, packages, labels or otherwise is involved in placing a 5 product in the stream of commerce. 6 Section 2. This act shall apply to all actions instituted on 7 or after the effective date of this act. 8 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days. A2L42JAM/20070S0705B0777 - 4 -