Read the full stored bill text
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 3104
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE OVERCAST .
6736H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal sections 537.760 and 537.765, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections
relating to products liability claims.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 537.760 and 537.765, RSMo, are repealed and two new sections
2 enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 537.760 and 537.765, to read as follows:
537.760. 1. As used in sections 537.760 to 537.765, the term "products liability
2 claim" means a claim or portion of a claim in which the plaintif f seeks relief in the form of
3 damages on a theory that the defendant is strictly liable for such damages because:
4 (1) The defendant, wherever situated in the chain of commerce, transferred a product
5 in the course of his business; and
6 (2) The product was used in a manner reasonably anticipated; and
7 (3) Either or both of the following:
8 (a) The product was then in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous when put
9 to a reasonably anticipated use, and the plaintif f was damaged as a direct result of such
10 defective condition as existed when the product was sold; or
11 (b) The product was then unreasonably dangerous when put to a reasonably
12 anticipated use without knowledge of its characteristics, and the plaintif f was damaged as a
13 direct result of the product being sold without an adequate warning.
14 2. A pr oduct may be in a defective condition under subdivision (3) of subsection
15 1 of this section if it:
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
16 (1) Contains a manufacturing defect because the prod uct departs fro m its
17 intended design even though all possible care was exer cised in the pr eparation and
18 marketing of the prod uct; or
19 (2) Is defective by design because the for eseeable risks of harm posed by the
20 pr oduct could have been significantly redu ced or avoided by the adoption of a
21 r easonable alternative design by the manufactur er or seller without substantially
22 impairing the pr oduct's utility , the same alternative design was economically and
23 technologically feasible at the time the pr oduct left the control of the manufactur er or
24 seller by the application of existing or reas onably achievable scientific knowledge, and
25 the omission of the alternative design renders the pro duct not reas onably safe.
537.765. 1. Contributory fault, as a complete bar to plaintif f's recovery in a products
2 liability claim, is abolished. The doctrine of pure comparative fault shall apply to products
3 liability claims as provided in this section.
4 2. Defendant may plead and prove the fault of the plaintif f or any other person or
5 entity as an af firmative defense in any pr oducts liability claim, including all strict liability
6 claims . Any fault char geable to the plaintif f shall diminish proportionately the amount
7 awarded as compensatory damages but shall not bar recovery .
8 3. For purposes of this section, "fault" [is limited to:
9 (1) The failure to use the product as reasonably anticipated by the manufacturer;
10 (2) Use of the product for a purpose not intended by the manufacturer;
11 (3) Use of the product with knowledge of a danger involved in such use with
12 reasonable appreciation of the consequences and the voluntary and unreasonable exposure to
13 said danger;
14 (4) Unreasonable failure to appreciate the danger involved in use of the product or the
15 consequences thereof and the unreasonable exposure to said danger;
16 (5) The failure to undertake the precautions a reasonably careful user of the product
17 would take to protect himself against dangers which he would reasonably appreciate under
18 the same or similar circumstances; or
19 (6) The failure to mitigate damages.] means any actionable br each of legal duty or
20 act or omission prox imately causing or contributing to cause in any way the accident or
21 the harm for which r ecovery of damages is sought, including negligence in all of its
22 degr ees, comparative negligence, assumption of risk, strict liability , br each of expr ess or
23 implied warranty of a pro duct, prod ucts liability and misuse, or modification or abuse
24 of a pr oduct.
25 4. In a prod ucts liability claim, the liability of each defendant for damages is
26 several only and is not joint. Each defendant is liable only for the amount of damages
27 allocated to that defendant in dir ect prop ortion to that defendant's per centage of fault.
HB 3104 2
28 5. In assessing per centages of fault, the trier of fact shall consider the fault of all
29 persons or entities that contributed to the accident or harm, regard less of whether the
30 person or entity was, or could have been, named as a party to the suit. The r elative
31 degr ee of fault of the plaintiff, and the relat ive degr ees of fault of all defendants and
32 nonparties, shall be determined and apportioned as a whole at one time by the trier of
33 fact.
✔
HB 3104 3