Product Liability -- 2020



City of Pomona v. SQM North America Corp.   (9th Circuit)

Unlimited historical liability

The NAM filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit addressing the “risk-benefit” test for strict products liability as applied to historically used products. The City of Pomona, California, claims that a fertilizer product sold more than 70 years ago contained small amounts of naturally occurring perchlorate that contaminated the city’s groundwater supply. The resolution of this question has the potential to impact manufacturers because it involves the proper legal standard for strict product liability for historically used products. The NAM’s brief argues that a defendant cannot be liable for risks based on science and technology not available at the time a product was manufactured. On February 6, 2020, in a disappointing ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that jurors are allowed to consider risks that were not, and could not have been, known to the manufacturer at the time of manufacture. On March 2, 2020, after SQM filed a petition for rehearing en banc, the NAM filed an amicus brief in support of rehearing. Unfortunately, on March 17, 2020, the court denied rehearing.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (March 2, 2020)
NAM brief  (December 21, 2018)