Radical Changes To Europe's Product Liability Rules Adopted

On November 18, 2024, the European Union published its new Product Liability Directive (the "PLD"), which applies to products placed on the market or put into service after December 9, 2026. Transposition of the PLD into the domestic laws of the EU Member States must be completed by the same date.

From a litigation perspective, plaintiffs in the future could have European courts order disclosure of evidence based on a claim being "plausible." Moreover, in certain circumstances, plaintiffs will not need to prove a defect but instead be able to rely on a presumption, where a plaintiff will only need to show that a defect was "likely." See our Commentary, "Reversal of Burden of Proof Under Proposal for a New EU Product Liability Directive" (November 7, 2023) for further details.