Vautour v. Body Masters Sports Industries, Inc.

784 A.2d 1178 (2001)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
V
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Vautour v. Body Masters Sports Industries, Inc.

New Hampshire Supreme Court
784 A.2d 1178 (2001)

  • Written by Mary Pfotenhauer, JD

Facts

David Vautour was injured while using a leg press machine manufactured by Body Masters Sports Industries, Inc. (Body Masters). Vautour and his wife (plaintiffs) sued Body Masters (defendant) on claims of strict liability and negligence. At trial, Vautour’s expert testified that the machine, as designed, was hazardous because it could be used without the stops being engaged, and provided his own proposed design that he testified was mechanically feasible and would be safer than the machine’s current design. The lower court granted Body Master’s motion for a directed verdict in its favor because Vautour’s expert failed to provide testimony as to how his alternative design would have prevented the type of injuries suffered by Vautour. Vautour appealed, arguing that he did not need to prove an alternative design as an additional element of his design defect claim.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Duggan, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 803,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 803,000 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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 803,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Torts

Key Terms