South Carolina rejects consumer expectations test in product defect cases

In an opinion filed on Monday, the South Carolina Supreme Court adopted the risk-utility test for design defect cases, rejecting use of a consumer expectations test. Under the risk-utility test, the court held that the plaintiff was required to present evidence of a reasonable alternative design that would have prevented the product from being unreasonably dangerous. What this means is that South Carolina has now become one of the few states to have adopted the views of the Restatement third on this issue. Thanks to the TortsProf blog for the information and link.