CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT GRANTS REVIEW IN MAJOR PRODUCT LIABILITY CASE; AGREES TO DECIDE WHETHER SOPHISTICATED USER DOCTRINE EXISTS IN CALIFORNIA

On January 4, 2006, the California Supreme Court granted review in a major product liability case, Johnson v. American Standard, Inc., Case No. S139184. The court agreed to decide, among other things, whether the sophisticated user doctrine exists in California to limit a defendant's duty to warn of hazards which reasonably should be known by a sophisticated and knowledgeable plaintiff user.

Plaintiff William Keith Johnson claimed he suffered lung damage from the release of phosgene gas created when he brazed (welded) refrigerant lines in the air conditioning system at Bank of America's Del Amo branch. He claimed that the air conditioning equipment manufacturer, American Standard, should have warned of the possible emission of harmful phosgene gas. The trial court granted summary judgment for American Standard on the grounds that (1) American Standard had no duty to warn about the dangers of the refrigerant, which was made by another manufacturer and (2) American Standard had no duty to warn Johnson of the risks of phosgene gas because those risks were within the knowledge of professional installers and repairers like Johnson. The Court of Appeal affirmed the grant of summary judgment, announcing for the first time in a published opinion that, as a "natural outgrowth of the rule that there is no duty to warn of known risks or obvious dangers", California law encompasses the sophisticated user doctrine, which relieves a defendant of a duty to warn members of a particular trade or profession about a danger generally known to that trade or profession.

The California Supreme Court granted the plaintiff's petition for review, which raised several issues concerning the existence, scope and application of the sophisticated user doctrine in this state.

Horvitz & Levy LLP is organizing a coalition of clients in the toxic tort and product liability industries to file an amicus brief in this important case. If you are interested in joining that effort, please contact David Axelrad or M.C. Sungaila at (818) 995-0800 or by e-mail to daxelrad@horvitzlevy.com or msungaila@horvitzlevy.com.

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