Burgos v. Lutz
Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court
128 A.D.2d 496 (1987)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
The plaintiff’s decedent was killed in a car accident while driving a car manufactured by Honda (defendant). The impact of the accident caused the car’s steering column to hit the decedent’s chest, which caused his death. The plaintiff brought a design-defect suit against Honda, alleging that the car’s seat-belt system and steering column were defectively designed. The plaintiff presented expert testimony that the locking mechanism in the decedent’s seat-belt system was erratic. The plaintiff did not, however, present evidence that the erratic nature of the locking mechanism was a result of the mechanism’s design or that a safer design would have been feasible. The plaintiff also did not establish that the decedent was wearing his seat belt at the time of the accident. The plaintiff’s expert witness presented a safer alternative design for the steering column. The expert did not, however, testify whether that alternative design would have prevented the decedent’s injuries. Honda filed a motion to dismiss the design-defect claims. The trial court granted Honda’s motion to dismiss, and the plaintiff appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Mollen, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
