General Motors Corporation v. Sanchez
Supreme Court of Texas
997 S.W.2d 584 (1999)
Lee Sanchez Jr. died after exiting his GM (defendant) truck without engaging the safety measures described in the owner's manual -- setting the parking brake, fully engaging park, turning off the engine, removing the key -- after which the truck's defective transmission allegedly slipped into reverse and rolled backward, pinning him fatally against a gate. Experts agreed that performing any single one of those recommended safety steps would have prevented the accident, though Sanchez apparently performed none of them. The jury found the transmission defective and GM's warning inadequate, but also found Sanchez 50% responsible; the trial court disregarded that comparative-fault finding and awarded full damages, and after the court of appeals affirmed, GM appealed.
Whether comparative responsibility applies to reduce a plaintiff's damages in a strict-products-liability action if the plaintiff's negligence is something other than the failure to discover or guard against a product defect.