Montez v. Ford Motor Co.

Opinion

WIENER, J.

A plaintiff in an action for personal injuries in a products liability case is not required to elect whether to proceed on a theory of strict liability in tort or on a theory of negligence where the instructions on the two theories will not be confusing to the jury. (Jiminez v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. (1971) 4 Cal.3d 379, 387 [93 Cal.Rptr. 769, 482 P.2d 681, 52 A.L.R.3d 92].) At issue in this appeal is whether the court’s rejection of plaintiffs negligence instructions and its decision to instruct the jury solely on strict liability was prejudicial error. We conclude that in a…