Ray Ex Rel. Holman v. BIC Corp.

OPINION

WHITE, Justice.

In this Rule 23 case we are called upon to address whether our products liability statute, codified at Tennessee Code Annotated Section 29-28-101 to -108, provides for a risk-utility test in addition to the consumer expectation test for determining whether a product is unreasonably dangerous. For the reasons set forth below, we hold that our present statute provides for two tests: the consumer expectation test and the prudent manufacturer test. The latter requires risk-utility balancing in its application.

I. Facts

On September 3, 1982, the Memphis apartment building in…