Products Liability Reform/Innocent Seller: S.B. 184 (2011).
Known as the Alabama Small Business Protection Act, S.B. 184
Known as the Alabama Small Business Protection Act, S.B. 184 adds protection for Alabama’s retailers against product liabilty suits. The suits are aimed at the manufacturers, but often the trial lawyers sue Alabama retailers, wholesalers and distributors as defendants even though they did not participate in the manufacturing or design of the product. This is done in some instances solely to allow the plaintiff to file suit in counties favorable to plaintiffs and keep an out-of-state manufacturer in an Alabama state court and out of federal court. If, on the other hand, the suit is brought against a retailer or distributor because the manufacturer is unknown and the retailer or distributor is needed in order to provide discovery concerning the manufacturer’s identity, the bill provides a mechanism to accomplish this in a reasonable manner so that the suit can then proceed against the appropriate manufacturer.
Latest News
View all news
Third Circuit Ruling Blocks Bankruptcy Proceedings for LTL Management
The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) is disappointed to learn that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled against LTL Management, LLC in a case regarding the […]
Trial lawyers target agriculture products in ‘Judicial Hellholes’
This op-ed was originally published by Agri-Pulse. Mass tort litigation has become a multi-billion-dollar industry for trial lawyers over the past several decades as they’ve targeted everything from tobacco and […]
Gov. DeSantis Signs Key Legal Reform Bill In Florida
SB 2-A to improve FL property insurance; addresses assignment of benefits, one way attorney fee shifting, third-party bad faith
ATRA Brief Calls on SCOTUS to Review Near Limitless Per Violation Civil Penalties
Arbitrary, excessive punishments result from lack of clarity under some laws
Frivolous ‘No-Injury’ Lawsuits Thrive in California
State ranked No. 3 among worst ‘Judicial Hellholes’ in nation with residents paying $1,900 per year in ‘tort tax’
Endless Coastal Litigation Creates Climate of Lawsuit Abuse in ‘Judicial Hellhole’ Louisiana
Residents pay ‘tort tax’ of more than $1,010 amid all-time high inflation