CONSUMER LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CONSUMER LAW - Essay Example Despite the defence offered by the respondent the court of appeal found in favour of the claimant on the basis of strict liability, even though the court accepted that the respondent had not been negligent. (a) the product could not be regarded as defective as there had been no previous instances of this type and therefore they had no reason to believe that there was any need to change the design to prevent such a thing from happening the state of scientific and technical knowledge at the relevant time was not such that a producer of products of the same description as the product in question might be expected to have discovered the defect if it had existed in his products while they were under his control In the first hearing the court held Mothercare liable for the injuries and also rejected any claim for contributory negligence on the part of the claimant. It was not made clear at the first hearing whether the ruling had been based on negligence or strict liability or both which led to Mothercare lodging an appeal. At the appeal hearing the court clarified the position, stating that the ruling was based on the defectiveness of the product and not the negligence of the producer. The appeal court rejected the defence offered under s4(1)(e) of the CPA 1987 in relation to the development risk defence. In reaching their decision the court found that Mothercare had not breached their duty of care to the claimant and that no prudent producer could have anticipated the risk. Liability therefore hinged on determining whether the product could be deemed to be defective. (1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, there is a defect in a product for the purposes of this Part if the safety of the product is not such as persons generally are entitled to expect; and for those purposes "safety", in relation to a product, shall include safety with respect to products comprised in that product and safety in