Richards v. Owens-Illinois, Inc.

Opinion

BAXTER, J.

Proposition 51 (Civ. Code, § 1431 et seq.),1 adopted by the voters in 1986, provides that in a tort action governed by principles of comparative fault, a defendant shall not be jointly liable for the plaintiff’s “non-economic damages,” but shall only be severally liable for such damages “in direct proportion to that defendant’s percentage of fault.” (§ 1431.2, subd. (a).) Section 1714.45, adopted by the Legislature in 1987, provides that with specified exceptions, a manufacturer or seller “shall not be liable” in a “product liability action” for harm caused by the ingestion…