EU Business Law Outline

MOUSSERON – European Business Law (UF France Summer Study Abroad Program) – Summer 2013

– P- 59 – Product Liability

§ Access to class actions used to enforce product liability claims

§ 1985 directive on Products Liability (P-59)

o Applications of laws complementing Products Liability Law

§ Includes Contractual Liability

§ Tort/Civil Liability

· Civil Code Article 1386-18 (P-77)

§ CISG if it incorporated an International sale

· Cannot apply as Article 5 disallows application of harm to final consumer

§ French Consumer Code

o European Product Liability Law

§ Directive of 1985 P- 59

· Implemented nationally throughout Europe

§ Most rules are enacted pursuant to a European Source

§ First look to National regulating laws before going to international directives

· International directives are not necessarily applicable as may be used only to bring light to certain aspects of law

§ Rules Applicable to plaintiff

· No need of contract for victim to bring a claim against producer of product

· Victim can be a company

o As the law does not distinguish natural person then it is meant to incorporate all persons

· Burden of Proof

o No requirement of fault/Negligence in French Law

o Need only show:

§ Damage

· Need be physical damage Or property damage Art. 1386-15

§ Defect

· Art. 1386-4 – regard can be had to use which one could reasonably expect from the product

· Only applies to type of uses that people would have in mind for a product

§ Causal Link

· Defect Caused the damage

· Issue: when damage has several causes

o Under Directive 1985 Art. 8 – Liability may be reduced when causality is not entirely on the product

o France Art. 1386-13 – Liability may be reduced when causality is only partially due to defect

· Manufacturer, Producer, Importer can all be held liable as producers of the product

o 1386-6 – Any person who put TM on product can be liable and any person who helped finance the products

· Philip Morris Case P-93

o Can argue that the subsidiary importer company would be held liable as acted as same entity

o Not necessarily a French law concept, however has been accepted under European Law for Competition Law

§ Common Defenses available to liability

· 1386-10 – Defenses Not available to defendant

o No matter if product was manufactured in accordance with rules of trade

o No matter if comply with existing standards

o No matter if received authority from state to manufacture product

· 1386-11 – Lists defenses for producers

o (4) State of Art Defense – could not possibly know defect

o (5) – defect is due to compliance of mandatory statute or regulation

o Art. 1386-8 & () – Subcomponent defense – where issue was single component of product then both producer of product and producer of component are liable

· 1386-13 – damages reduced or disallowed when injury is fault of victim

· General Tort Defenses – General Principles of law – Unwritten Rule – Judge May or May Not accept these defenses as judge may say that they are not specifically written in product liability law

o Force Mejeur (Act of God)

§ Can argue is a principle of law which can apply to different areas of law even though it is mainly referenced in contract law under the Civil Code

§ Cas Forti & Act of God – Generally same as Force Mejeur

o Fait du Prince – Government/administrative intervention which is type of Force Mejeur

o Gross Negligence – Fault of victim

o Fraud

§ The victim made the defect occur in effort

§ Lery Somer Case Doc 20 P-102

· Hospital had a generator manufactured