Sternhagen v. Dow Co.

The United States District Court for the District of Montana, Great Falls Division, has certified to this Court the following question:

In a strict products liability case for injuries caused by an inherently unsafe product, is the manufacturer conclusively presumed to know the dangers inherent in his product, or is state-of-the-art evidence admissible to establish whether the manufacturer knew or through the exercise of reasonable human foresight should have known of the danger?

We conclude that Montana law precludes the admission of state-of-the-art evidence in products liability cases…