News & Events

On July 1, 2014, Simpson Thacher won an important decision clarifying the law in the area of product liability for defective design. The New York Court of Appeals held in Reis v. Volvo that Pattern Jury Instruction 2:15, which relates to defendants with special knowledge or skill, was a “community” standard-of-care charge that was applicable only to malpractice cases and had no place in a design defect case.  The issue at trial was whether Volvo’s manual transmission car was defectively designed because it did not contain a starter interlock switch, a device which would have prevented the car from being started in gear by mistake – the cause of the accident that injured plaintiff Reis.  The Court held that the trial court’s inclusion of PJI 2:15 was a material deviation from the applicable legal standard in a design defect case under the Court’s precedent adopting a “reasonable person” standard and therefore required reversal and a new trial.

The Simpson Thacher team included Roy Reardon, who argued the appeal in the Court of Appeals, Andy Amer, Alicia Washington, and Seth Allen.