Soule v. General Motors Corp.
Supreme Court of California
882 P.2d 298 (1994)
Soule (plaintiff) was injured when a side collision caused her Camaro's wheel assembly bracket to tear loose, sending the wheel into the floorboard beneath her pedals and crushing her ankles; she sued General Motors (GM) (defendant), alleging a defective wheel-bracket design, with dueling expert testimony on metallurgy, biomechanics, and alternative designs. The jury was instructed under the 'ordinary consumer expectations' test — asking only whether the car failed to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect — and found for Soule, awarding $1.65 million; GM appealed, arguing that test was inappropriate for this complex, technical design-defect claim, and the court of appeals affirmed before GM appealed further.
Whether the 'ordinary consumer expectations' test is appropriate in cases where the evidence does not permit an inference that the product's performance failed to meet the minimum safety expectations of ordinary users.