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CASE NOTES

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
October 07, 2003

Plaintiffs Defeat Summary Judgment Against Manufacturer of Lighter

A mother, Shonda, and her son, Brandon, died in a fire in their trailer. The fire investigators determined the fire started in 4-year-old Brandon's room, and the only incendiary device found in the room was the metal tip of a utility lighter. The families sued the manufacturer of the lighter in federal court. They sought compensatory and exemplary damages on the basis of product liability, negligence, breach of express and implied warranties, misrepresentation, and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ' 17.46 et seq.

The district court concluded that the plaintiffs could not prove a defect in the Aim 'n Flame utility lighter, which was designed, manufactured, and distributed by Scripto-Tokai, caused the fire that destroyed the trailer and resulted in the deaths. They appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendants, Scripto-Tokai. The appellate court disagreed and concluded that plaintiffs presented sufficient summary judgment evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the Aim 'n Flame caused the fatal fire.

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