Mark Geistfeld, the author of the leading textbook on products liability, an important text on tort law and dozens of scholarly articles, has class-tested the material in Products Liability Law for more than five years at NYU. He has made the study of products liability an advanced torts class that cements knowledge of fundamental tort principles while developing both specialized expertise and a deeper understanding of the torts process. Illuminating textual discussion follows a wide range of riveting cases. Unlike many casebooks that simply pose the question, Products Liability Law provides the analyses needed to address each challenging problem. Unifying the two competing conceptions of products liability, students become familiar with both approaches and develop a balanced perspective. Features: Stellar authorship: Mark Geistfeld leading textbook on products liability important tort law textbook dozens of scholarly articles. Classroom-tested for five years Makes the study of products liability an advanced tortsclass cements knowledge of fundamental tort principles develops both specialized expertise and a deeper understanding of the torts process Wide range of interesting cases followed by extended textual discussion Provides analysis needed to address challenging questions, missing from most casebooks Unifies the two competing conceptions of products liability

Products liability law is often confusing because it is in a state of constant flux as it confronts a number of challenges. Some such challenges are well known, such as the battle over the comparative merits of the Second and Third Restatements of Torts. Other, equally important challenges have, however, been overlooked by other texts, such as the growing use of bankruptcy protection laws to limit the consequences of supplying defective products (as in the recent bailout-supported cases of General Motors and Chrysler), and this book sets out to rectify such omissions. While other books leave the reader to sink or swim in a swamp of apparently contradictory doctrine, Products Liability Law: Cases, Commentary, and Conundra lays out from the beginning the five elements common to all products liability claims. It then builds on this foundation by tackling each new area of the law in a lucid and reader-friendly manner, while explaining how each doctrine relates to the politico-economic and historical context in which the law operates. Supplementing the text with numerous original flowcharts, tables, and other diagrams--as well as asking thoughtful questions along the way--this book charts a careful and comprehensible course through the often tempestuous battleground of products liability law.

The varied doctrines, disputes, competing conceptions of liability and responsibility, and leading cases in this area are all discussed in this book. Unlike other books in this subject area, this title fully develops the underlying concepts and then repeatedly shows how the important doctrines can be understood in terms of a few basic principles. The book also provides insights into the processes of the common law, while locating products liability within tort law more generally. The book will be of interest both for the specialized study of products liability and the more general study of tort law.

This edition of Professor Owen's classic treatise refines and updates the first edition's acclaimed examination of products liability law and theory in action. Topics include introductory discussions of the nature and history of this field of law in America and abroad; detailed treatments of theories of liability, product defectiveness, causation, defenses, and proof; considerations of various special types of litigation; and punitive damages. Throughout, the treatise explores the underlying tensions and policies in this area of law and explains the impact of the Restatement of the Law of Torts, Third: Products Liability.