O'Brien v. Muskin Corp.
New Jersey Supreme Court
463 A.2d 298 (N.J. 1983)
Gary O'Brien (plaintiff) dove into a shallow above-ground pool manufactured by Muskin (defendant), striking his head on the slippery vinyl-lined bottom and sustaining injuries; he sued in strict products liability, arguing the pool's slippery liner constituted a design defect and its diving warning was inadequate. The trial court instructed the jury on strict liability but removed the slippery-liner design-defect question from the jury's consideration, and the jury found Muskin only 15 percent at fault against O'Brien's 85 percent, barring recovery under comparative negligence; an intermediate appellate court reversed for a new trial, finding the design-defect issue should have gone to the jury, and the New Jersey Supreme Court granted review.
Whether a risk-utility analysis is the appropriate framework for a jury to assess a strict products-liability design-defect claim where a product functions safely under one set of circumstances but poses undue danger under others.