Pennsylvania
How Cheney v. Village 2 at New Hope, Inc. applies in Pennsylvania: state-specific rules, key cases, and bar exam notes for Torts (Products Liability).
Pennsylvania law adheres to the principles of tortious liability, including strict liability in product cases. A plaintiff must establish that a product is defective and that such defect caused injury or damages.
Pennsylvania employs the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A, applying strict liability for defective products provided that the product reaches the consumer in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer.
The court established that the consumer expectation test is the standard for determining product defectiveness in strict liability cases.
In this case, the court ruled that the plaintiff's failure to prove that a defect existed did not support a finding of liability.
The court held that in product liability actions, the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff to show that the product was defective at the time it left the manufacturer's hands.
Pennsylvania's strict liability framework closely mirrors the federal standard found in the Restatement (Second) of Torts. However, Pennsylvania courts have been known to apply a more forgiving standard towards establishing defectiveness compared to some federal jurisdictions.
Questions on the Pennsylvania bar exam may include considerations of product liability principles as established in Cheney, testing candidates on comparisons between state and federal approaches.