On Behavioural Asymmetry in Product Liability Law
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Thomas Verheyen
Abstract
This theoretical article identifies the asymmetry between the producer and the consumer as the key to understanding product liability law. In an attempt to resolve the endless scholarly and jurisprudential debates on the proper criterion for defectiveness in European law, it first tracks the ways in which the commonly opposed consumer expectations and risk-utility test each fail to address the typical asymmetries between producers and consumers in a satisfying manner. Building upon the concept of ‘behavioural asymmetry’, it then develops a new criterion for defectiveness under European law: the behavioural risk-utility test. Under a behavioural risk-utility test, the producer is liable if the product is not reasonably safe for average users suffering from cognitive biases and other behavioural shortcomings. This test aptly combines the systemic point of view of risk-utility balancing with an evidence-based conception of asymmetry, and therefore provides a meaningful criterion for adjudicating product liability disputes.
Note
This article reflects my personal opinion only. A Dutch version of the argument will be published together with the rest of my PhD (T Verheyen, Eenzijdige beheersing van het aansprakelijkheidsrisico, Antwerpen, Intersentia, forthcoming).
I want to thank Guillermo Arribas, Sebastián Guidi, Václav Janeček, Marc Kruithof, Bregt Raus, Jochen Tanghe and Florenz Volkaert for their critical comments on earlier versions of this article. I also want to thank Hans-Bernd Schäfer and Sven Höppner, the participants in the 2019 ACCA Conference workshop on ‘Risk and Liability’ in Namur (Belgium), the participants in the Torts Section of the 2019 SLS Conference in Preston (UK) and the participants of the 2019 LRN Conference in Budapest for sharing their thoughts on the topic. Finally, many thanks to Elise Vanderlinden for proofreading the manuscript.
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- Injecting Fairness into COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Compensation: No-Fault Solutions
- On Behavioural Asymmetry in Product Liability Law
- International Jurisdiction for Investor Claims Based on Prospectus Liability following CJEU 12.9.2018, C-304/17, Löber/Barclays
- Book Reviews
- G Dannemann/R Schulze, German Civil Code – Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB) Volume I (CH Beck 2020). xxviii + 2322 pp. ISBN 978-3-406-70035-4. € 250 (hardback)
- Anthony Gray, The Evolution from Strict Liability to Fault in the Law of Torts (Oxford, Hart Publishing 2021). 296 pp. ISBN 9781509941018
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- Injecting Fairness into COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Compensation: No-Fault Solutions
- On Behavioural Asymmetry in Product Liability Law
- International Jurisdiction for Investor Claims Based on Prospectus Liability following CJEU 12.9.2018, C-304/17, Löber/Barclays
- Book Reviews
- G Dannemann/R Schulze, German Civil Code – Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB) Volume I (CH Beck 2020). xxviii + 2322 pp. ISBN 978-3-406-70035-4. € 250 (hardback)
- Anthony Gray, The Evolution from Strict Liability to Fault in the Law of Torts (Oxford, Hart Publishing 2021). 296 pp. ISBN 9781509941018
