Matheny Sears Linkert & Jaime, LLP has handled a broad range of product liability cases since the inception of the firm. Over the course of defending product liability lawsuits, we have gained a deep understanding of this well-developed area of California law. We have developed various strategies to maximize the defense of our clients, whether they be designers, manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, or others in the stream of commerce. The firm has worked with a variety of experts over the years and is able to match expert talent with the demands of a particular case. California law provides product liability plaintiffs with a variety of legal theories that include Strict Products Liability (manufacturing defect, design defect, failure to warn/instruct), Negligence, and Breach of Express/Implied Warranty.
We work with the client to identify all potential defenses (such as misuse and abuse), work with in-house experts/engineering staff, and retain and direct appropriate outside experts, with the goal of developing a multi-layered defense. Indeed, we successfully obtained a defense verdict in a wrongful death case based upon a finding of no proximate (legal) cause, even after the jury found the product in question to be defective in design and manufacture and without an adequate warning.
The subject matter of cases we have defended include Automotive (tire design and manufacture, brakes, fuel delivery systems, truck air brakes); Boating and Water Sports (water ski, wakeboard, towed devices); Construction Equipment (scaffolding, elevators, mast-climbers, pneumatic devices); Consumer Products (coffee makers, exhaust fans, propane equipment/barbeques); Firearms; Food Products and Contamination; Industrial Devices and Machines; Power Tools (saws, log-splitters); Sports and Recreational Equipment (boating and marine, bicycles, gun, and sports racks, stoves and camping, ski and snowboard/bindings, ski lifts).
