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Pruitt v. General Motors Corp.

California Court of Appeal

72 Cal. App. 4th 1480 (1999)

Facts

Norma Pruitt (plaintiff) was driving a car manufactured by General Motors Corp. (GMC) (defendant) with her seatbelt and shoulder harness fastened. As Pruitt turned left at an intersection, her car collided with an oncoming car. The airbag on Pruitt’s side of the car deployed upon impact, fracturing Pruitt’s lower jaw in three places. Pruitt brought a products-liability action against GMC, alleging that the airbag should not have deployed in a low-speed collision. The court declined to instruct the jury, as Pruitt requested, that a product is defective in design if it fails to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect when used in an intended or reasonably foreseeable manner. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of GMC. Pruitt appealed, arguing that the court should have given a jury instruction on the consumer-expectations test.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Gilbert, J.)

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A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

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