Utilizing the Unforeseeable Misuse Defense to Dispose of Product Liability Claims
I. Why It Matters
The unforeseeable defense applies to preclude a plaintiff from maintaining an actionable product liability in Ohio where the plaintiff uses a product in a capacity, which is unforeseeable and incompatible with the product’s design. Importantly, unforeseeable misuse can be used as a complete defense to a broad array of product liability causes of action. Three recent Ohio decisions demonstrate the broad applicability of the defense with respect to this particular area of civil litigation, and exemplify how the misuse defense can be deployed in litigation to dispose of an action favorably and efficiently, oftentimes without having to undergo the time, effort, and expense of fully litigating a dispute through trial.
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“Utilizing the Unforeseeable Misuse Defense to Dispose of Product Liability Claims,” by David J. Oberly was published in the Fall 2018 edition of OACTA Quarterly Review. Reprinted with permission.