Alabama product liability law is unique in the nation. Handling product litigation under Alabama’s Extended Manufacturer’s Liability Doctrine (AEMLD) requires an understanding of how this doctrine evolved and how it differs from typical strict liability.
Under typical strict liability, a plaintiff need only prove that a product was defective and caused harm. The AEMLD was established to protect consumers from injuries caused by defective products. It marks a significant evolution in Alabama’s product liability law. Dennis v. American Honda Motor Co., 585 So. 2d 1336 (Ala. 1991), and Hicks v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 652 So. 2d 211 (Ala. 1993). Under the AEMLD, a plaintiff must prove the product was sold in an unreasonably dangerous defective condition to the ultimate user or consumer, that the seller was in the business of selling such a product, and that it reached the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it was sold.
Historical Development
The AEMLD developed as a hybrid strict-liability system and did not adopt the pure strict liability approach of Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. Instead, it retained a fault-based system beginning with the companion cases of Atkins v. American Motors Corp., 335 So. 2d 134 (Ala. 1976), and Casrell v. Altec Indus., 335 So. 2d 128 (Ala. 1976). While these cases modeled the doctrine after Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts (1965), they rejected the no-fault concept of strict liability.
Under the strict liability system adopted by the Restatement (Second) of Torts 402A, the only requirement to establish the manufacturer’s liability was for the plaintiff to prove “that he was injured while using the in a way it was intended to be used as a result of a defect in design and manufacture of which the plaintiff was not aware that made the unsafe for its intended use.” Atkins v. American Motors Corp., 335 So. 2d 134, 138 (Ala. 1976). The Alabama Supreme Court deviated from this approach in the cases of Atkins v. American Motors Corp., 335 So. 2d 134 (Ala. 1976) and Casrell v. Altec Indus., 335 So. 2d 128 (Ala. 1976). In Casrell, it held that:
a manufacturer, or supplier, or seller, who markets a product not reasonably safe when applied to its intended use in the usual and customary manner, constitutes negligence as a matter of law… In other words, the fault or negligence of the defendant is that he has conducted himself in a negligent manner by placing a product on the market causing personal injury or property damage, when used to its intended purpose. As long as there is a causal relationship between the defendant’s conduct and the defective product, he is held liable because he has created an unreasonable risk of harm.
Casrell at 132.
The AEMLD is similar to strict liability in that selling an unreasonably dangerous product is considered negligent as a matter of law. However, it maintains principles of fault-based liability due to certain defenses available to manufacturers that are not available in a pure strict liability system.
Jim Pattillo is a member of Christian Small, LLP’s Product Liability Practice Group. He is leading litigation counsel for insurance, product, and commercial clients and is based in the firm’s Birmingham, Alabama office. Mr. Pattillo represents numerous product manufacturers including software companies, medical device and life science companies, commercial product manufacturers, and numerous other US based manufacturers and distributors. Mr. Pattillo focuses exclusively on litigation and trial work. He has a twenty-year trial record in the courtroom that is extensive and successful including numerous seven and eight figure exposures with results routinely exceeding client expectations.
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