Notes and Comments

1.The Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A was published two years after the Greenman decision which reads:

§ 402A.Special Liability of Seller of Product for Physical Harm to User or Consumer

(1) One who sells any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer or to his property is subject to liability for physical harm thereby caused to the ultimate user or consumer,or to his property,if

a) the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product,and

b) it is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold.

(2) The rule stated Subsection (1) applies although(https://www.daowen.com)

a) the seller has exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of his product,and

b) the user or consumer has not bought the product from or entered into any contractual relation with the seller.

Note,however,the draft of strict liability law actually went through three rapid modifications,first applicable only to food and drink,then to products for “intimate bodily use,” and eventually to the current version that encompass all products.

2.Justice Rodger John Traynor was said to be the “greatest jurist that never served on the Supreme Court of the United States.” Coming from an impoverished Irish family in Utah,Rodger Traynor went to University of California at Berkeley and because of his excellent academic performance,was able to complete his education in law.Early on,he delineated an elaborate system for tax reform,and for that reason,he became the driving force for both national and local tax policies.

After becoming an associate justice on the California supreme court in 1940,he authored more than 900 opinions many of which were widely cited by court in other states.