Banks v. ICI Americas, Inc.

A nine-year-old boy died after eating Talon-G, a rat poison manufactured by ICI Americas, Inc. (ICI) (defendant), thinking it was candy. The poison was stored in an unmarked container and was a slow-acting, anticoagulant poison. By the time the boy manifested symptoms, it was too late to administer the antidote. The boy’s parents, the Bankses (plaintiffs), filed a design-defect products-liability action against ICI, alleging that Talon-G’s design was defective and that there were alternative designs available that were both safer and equally effective. Specifically, the Bankses alleged, with supporting expert testimony, that ICI could have made Talon-G safer by adding either an emetic or an aversive agent, neither of which would have impacted the efficacy, technical feasibility, or marketability of Talon-G. An emetic would had induced immediate vomiting if a child ingested the poison but would not have affected rats because rats cannot vomit. An aversive agent could make the poison taste terrible to children but would not affect its palatability for rats. After a jury trial, the trial court awarded the Bankses compensatory and punitive damages. On appeal, the appellate court reversed, holding that ICI could not be held liable for defective design simply because ICI had failed to employ the safest possible product design. The appellate court held that it was sufficient that Talon-G’s design was reasonably suited to its intended purpose. The Bankses appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court.