When Product Liability Meets The Uniform Commercial Code

Clients who are first introduced to the concept of strict liability in the context of a product liability lawsuit are often shocked to learn they can be held liable for a product defect simply because they sold the defective product. The first question we always hear in these situations is "How can I be held liable if I did not have any involvement in the decisions that went into how the product was designed or built?"

However, in some states, such as Texas and recently Oklahoma, the legislature has heard the cries of these retailers and passed a law that modifies the strict liability standard for defendants in a product liability lawsuit, which provides some relief to the "innocent seller."