Becker v. IRM Corp., 698 P.2d 116 (1985)

Citation: Becker v. IRM Corp., 698 P.2d 116 (1985)
Parent Document: Becker v. IRM Corp., 698 P.2d 116 (1985)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 1985-04-29
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1172788/becker-v-irm-corp/ ↗

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Our high court has suggested that issue of defectiveness can best be resolved by resort to the "cluster of precedents" forming the crucible in which the products liability doctrine has been forged and shaped. (Barker v. Lull Engineering Co. (1978) 20 Cal.3d 413, 428 [143 Cal. Rptr. 225, 573 P.2d 443, 96 A.L.R.3d 1]; Cronin v. J.B.E. Olson Corp., supra, at p. 134.) In Barker, supra, the court enumerated the following as standards to be employed in determining whether a product is defectively designed: "First, a product may be found defective in design if the plaintiff establishes that the product failed to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect when used in an intended or reasonably foreseeable manner. Second, a product may alternatively be found defective in design if the plaintiff demonstrates that the product's design proximately caused his injury and the defendant fails to establish, in light of the relevant factors, that, on balance, the benefits of the challenged design outweigh the risk of danger inherent in such design." (Id., at p. 432.)

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