Linegar v. Armour of America
United States Court of Appeal for the Eighth Circuit
909 F.2d 1150 (8th Cir. 1990)
Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper Jimmy Linegar was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop while wearing a contour-style bulletproof vest manufactured by Armour of America (defendant); five bullets struck the vest without penetrating it, but a fatal shot entered through the side of his torso, an area the contour-style vest left exposed compared to fuller wrap-around designs, though it offered more coverage than traditional front-and-back-only vests. This coverage gap was obvious to anyone choosing to wear the contour style. Linegar's relative (plaintiff) sued Armour, alleging the vest was defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous; the jury found for the plaintiff and awarded $1.5 million, and Armour appealed.
Whether a product may be defective in design if it is found by the jury to be unreasonably dangerous.