European Product Liability Review

Transcription

1 European Product Liability Review March December 2008 Issues Contents CONSOLIDATED INDEX Index by date 3 Index by country 6

2 European Product Liability Review Consolidated Index March December 2008, Issues By date ISSUE 30 MARCH In pursuit of harmless fun European Commission proposes revised Toy Safety directive Matthew Hibbert and Amelia Hulme (London) 5 New draft Safety Risk Assessment Guidelines unveiled by European Commission Rod Freeman (London) 7 European Parliament moves to clarify European product safety rules Cédric Grolleau (Brussels) 8 European Commission seeks input into collective action benchmarks Rod Freeman and Matthew Hibbert (London) 10 Opt-out class action procedures recommended for the UK Rod Freeman and Daniel Armstrong (London) 11 The new Italian law on class actions and its impact on product liability litigation Francesca Rolla and Adriana Tilve (Milan) 13 English High Court allows legal challenge to REACH to proceed Christopher Norton (London) 14 Product manufacturers and vendors have limited ability to be granted interim measures against a decision of the European Commission Cédric Grolleau (Brussels) 17 Proposals to amend Polish tort law in death cases Ewa Rutkowska (Warsaw) 19 Car manufacturer sentenced to pay a fine of 200,000 for manslaughter and involuntary bodily harm Virginie Adam and Jean-François Le Gal (Paris) 20 Asbestos litigation in France: current trends and possible reforms Cécile Derycke and Sylvie Gallage-Alwis (Paris) 23 The Erika Judgment: Paris Criminal Court reaching for deeper pockets in order to compensate environmental damage Christine Gateau and Nadège Huart (Paris) 26 Caveat fumator: Italian court holds that smokers awareness of risks exempts tobacco manufacturers from liability Francesca Rolla and Adriana Tilve (Milan) 28 Court of Appeal confirms that a defendant can be substituted after expiry of the limitation period Rebecca Wales (London) 29 What constitutes de minimis exposure to asbestos? Oli Goldman (London) 31 Mesothelioma claims in the UK: a stricter quicker approach Matthew Hibbert (London) 33 Causation in English law: could Fairchild be extended beyond asbestos cases? Siobhan Thomson (London) ISSUE 31 JUNE The role of the national judge in the European judicial system Cédric Grolleau (Brussels) 4 New requirements for manufacturers of machinery: switching from Directive 98/37/EC to Directive 2006/42/EC Christophe Garin and Nadège Huart (Paris) 6 Harmonising EU product safety laws: the Commission s Goods Package Rod Freeman and Heather Gagen (London) 10 BERR proposals to simplify UK consumer law Matthew Hibbert and Heather Gagen (London) 12 Replacement free of charge means just that: a consumer cannot be required to pay for his use of faulty goods Claire Taylor (London)

3 European Product Liability Review Consolidated Index March December 2008, Issues Law against Science: French Civil Supreme Court opens the doors to compensation in product liability cases involving the Hepatitis B vaccine Cécile Derycke and Agnès Roman-Amat (Paris) 20 Product recalls in Germany: Do manufacturers have to provide a free replacement? Markus Burckhardt (Munich) 24 Blood Derivative Products: Supreme Court resolves the debate regarding causation and statute of limitation in civil liability claims Francesca Rolla and Adriana Tilve (Milan) 26 Spanish Supreme Court overturns Health Ministry s food alert as disproportionate Bernardino Muñiz (Madrid) 28 Court of Appeal upholds awards of costs against defendant s non-party insurer Angela Carazo-Gormley (London) 29 Improbable truths proof of defect in product liability cases Rod Freeman (London) 31 Toxic torts claims for personal injury in public nuisance actions Siobhan Thomson and Peter Owen (London) 34 Federal pre-emption of US state law in product liability claims Christina Taber-Kewene (New York) ISSUE 32 SEPTEMBER Nanotechnology: recent interest Marion Palmer, Scientist (London) 6 European Commission consults on Consumer Product Risk Assessment Guidelines Rod Freeman and Matthew Hibbert (London) 9 European Commission seeks input into EU wide classification of consumer complaints Germaine Gillen (London) 11 Product safety cannot be guaranteed by final product testing alone Claire Taylor (London) 14 Proposed introduction of class actions in Poland Ewa Rutkowska (Warsaw) 16 CJC recommendations bring US-style class actions one step closer to England Rod Freeman and Dan Armstrong (London) 18 Pleural plaques: the battle is not over yet Rod Freeman and Matthew Hibbert (London) 20 Limitation: whose knowledge of an injury counts? Matthew Hibbert and Heather Gagen (London) 22 Asbestos and Smoking: contributory negligence Ewa Holender (London) 24 US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 Joe Cyr and Carolyn Kruk (New York) 25 The perils of corporate control: US court takes personal jurisdiction over German management holding company Christina Taber-Kewene (New York) ISSUE 33 DECEMBER Impact of the Chinese melamine scandal Eugene Chen (Shanghai) and Joy McElroy (London) 6 EU US China co-operation on product safety: three heads are better than two Matthew Felwick (London) 8 Green Paper suggest opt-out collective redress mechanism may be suitable for European consumers John Meltzer and Dan Armstrong (London)

4 European Product Liability Review Consolidated Index March December 2008, Issues Third party funding the wolf at the door Rod Freeman and Libby Hannan (London) 15 Civil Justice Council supports introduction of US-style contingency fees and abolition of the loser-pays costs rule John Meltzer and Dan Armstrong (London) 17 Proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights Akima Paul (London) 19 Electromagnetic fields recent developments Thomas Rouhette and Delphine Lapillonne (Paris) 22 Asbestos litigation: How far will the French courts go? Cécile Derycke and Sylvie Gallage-Alwis (Paris) 27 Non-patrimonial damage: Italian Supreme Court settles the meaning of existential damage Francesca Rolla (Milan) 29 Insurance coverage: status quo preserved in asbestos cases Matthew Hibbert (London) 31 Causation: application of asbestos law principles to other personal injury cases Matthew Hibbert and Declan McKeever (London) 35 Claimants must prove actual loss Hannah Gregory (London) 37 South African Consumer Protection Bill Monique du Preez DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (Johannesburg) 41 FDA Preemption-related regulatory initiative Eric Statman (New York) 46 Brand name manufacturer liable in the US to users of generic equivalents Eric Statman (New York) and Ina Brock (Munich) 48 The harmonisation of Australia s consumer protection laws Clayton Utz (Australia)

5 European Product Liability Review Consolidated Index March December 2008, Issues By country AUSTRALIA The harmonisation of Australia s consumer protection laws Clayton Utz (Australia)...Issue 33, p48 CHINA Impact of the Chinese melamine scandal Eugene Chen (Shanghai) and Joy McElroy (London)...Issue 33, p2 EU In pursuit of harmless fun European Commission proposes revised Toy Safety directive Matthew Hibbert and Amelia Hulme (London)...Issue 30, p2 New draft Safety Risk Assessment Guidelines unveiled by European Commission Rod Freeman (London)...Issue 30, p5 European Parliament moves to clarify European product safety rules Cédric Grolleau (Brussels)...Issue 30, p7 European Commission seeks input into collective action benchmarks Rod Freeman and Matthew Hibbert (London)...Issue 30, p8 Product manufacturers and vendors have limited ability to be granted interim measures against a decision of the European Commission Cédric Grolleau (Brussels)...Issue 30, p14 The role of the national judge in the European judicial system Cédric Grolleau (Brussels)...Issue 31, p2 New requirements for manufacturers of machinery: switching from Directive 98/37/EC to Directive 2006/42/EC Christophe Garin and Nadège Huart (Paris)...Issue 31, p4 Harmonising EU product safety laws: the Commission s Goods Package Rod Freeman and Heather Gagen (London)...Issue 31, p6 European Commission consults on Consumer Product Risk Assessment Guidelines Rod Freeman and Matthew Hibbert (London)...Issue 32, p6 European Commission seeks input into EU wide classification of consumer complaints Germaine Gillen (London)...Issue 32, p9 EU US China co-operation on product safety: three heads are better than two Matthew Felwick (London)...Issue 33, p6 Green Paper suggest opt-out collective redress mechanism may be suitable for European consumers John Meltzer and Dan Armstrong (London)...Issue 33, p8 Proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights Akima Paul (London)...Issue 33. p17 FRANCE Car manufacturer sentenced to pay a fine of 200,000 for manslaughter and involuntary bodily harm Virginie Adam and Jean-François Le Gal (Paris)...Issue 30, p19 Asbestos litigation in France: current trends and possible reforms Cécile Derycke and Sylvie Gallage-Alwis (Paris)...Issue 30, p20 The Erika Judgment: Paris Criminal Court reaching for deeper pockets in order to compensate environmental damage Christine Gateau and Nadège Huart (Paris)...Issue 30, p23

6 European Product Liability Review Consolidated Index March December 2008, Issues Law against science: French Civil Supreme Court opens the doors to compensation in product liability cases involving the Hepatitis B vaccine Cécile Derycke and Agnès Roman-Amat (Paris)...Issue 31, p14 Electromagnetic fields recent developments Thomas Rouhette and Delphine Lapillonne (Paris)...Issue 33, p19 Asbestos litigation: How far will the French courts go? Cécile Derycke and Sylvie Gallage-Alwais (Paris)...Issue 33, p22 GERMANY Product recalls in Germany: Do manufacturers have to provide a free replacement? Markus Burckhardt (Munich)...Issue 31, p20 ITALY The new Italian law on class actions and its impact on product liability litigation Francesca Rolla and Adriana Tilve (Milan)...Issue 30, p11 Caveat fumator: Italian court holds that smokers awareness of risks exempts tobacco manufacturers from liability Francesca Rolla and Adriana Tilve (Milan)...Issue 30, p26 Blood Derivative Products: Supreme Court resolves the debate regarding causation and statute of limitation in civil liability claims Francesca Rolla and Adriana Tilve (Milan)...Issue 31, p24 Non-patrimonial damage: Italian Supreme Court settles the meaning of existential damage Francesca Rolla (Milan)...Issue 33, p27 POLAND Proposals to amend Polish tort law in death cases Ewa Rutkowska (Warsaw)...Issue 30, p17 Proposed introduction of class actions in Poland Ewa Rutkowska (Warsaw)...Issue 32, p14 SOUTH AFRICA South African Consumer Protection Bill Monique du Preez DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (Johannesburg)...Issue 33, p37 SPAIN Spanish Supreme Court overturns Health Ministry s food alert as disproportionate Bernardino Muñiz (Madrid)...Issue 31, p26 UK Opt-out class action procedures recommended for the UK Rod Freeman and Daniel Armstrong (London)...Issue 30, p10 English High Court allows legal challenge to REACH to proceed Christopher Norton (London)...Issue 30. p13 Court of Appeal confirms that a defendant can be substituted after expiry of the limitation period Rebecca Wales (London)...Issue 30, p28 What constitutes de minimis exposure to asbestos? Oli Goldman (London)...Issue 30, p29 Mesothelioma claims in the UK: a stricter quicker approach Matthew Hibbert (London)...Issue 30, p31 Causation in English law: could Fairchild be extended beyond asbestos cases? Siobhan Thomson (London)...Issue 30, p33 BERR proposals to simplify UK consumer law Matthew Hibbert and Heather Gagen (London)...Issue 31, p10 Replacement free of charge means just that: a consumer cannot be required to pay for his use of faulty goods Claire Taylor (London)...Issue 31, p12

7 European Product Liability Review Consolidated Index March December 2008, Issues Court of Appeal upholds awards of costs against defendant s non-party insurer Angela Carazo-Gormley (London)...Issue 31, p28 Improbable truths proof of defect in product liability cases Rod Freeman (London)...Issue 31, p29 Toxic torts claims for personal injury in public nuisance actions Siobhan Thomson and Peter Owen (London)...Issue 31, p31 Product safety cannot be guaranteed by final product testing alone Claire Taylor (London)...Issue 32, p11 CJC recommendations bring US-style class actions one step closer to England Rod Freeman and Dan Armstrong (London)...Issue 32, p16 Pleural plaques: the battle is not over yet Rod Freeman and Matthew Hibbert (London)...Issue 32, p18 Limitation: whose knowledge of an injury counts? Matthew Hibbert and Heather Gagen (London)...Issue 32, p20 Asbestos and Smoking: contributory negligence Ewa Holender (London)...Issue 32, p22 Third party funding the wolf at the door Rod Freeman and Libby Hannan (London)...Issue 33, p11 Causation: application of asbestos law principles to other personal injury cases Matthew Hibbert and Declan McKeever (London)...Issue 33, p31 Claimants must prove actual loss Hannah Gregory (London)...Issue 33, p35 USA Federal pre-emption of US state law in product liability claims Christina Taber-Kewene (New York)...Issue 31, p34 US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 Joe Cyr and Carolyn Kruk (New York)...Issue 32, p24 The perils of corporate control: US court takes personal jurisdiction over German management holding company Christina Taber-Kewene (New York)...Issue 32, p25 FDA Preemption-related regulatory initiative Eric Statman (New York)...Issue 33, p41 Brand name manufacturer liable in the US to users of generic equivalents Eric Statman (New York) and Ina Brock (Munich)...Issue 33, p46 OTHER Nanotechnology: recent interest Marion Palmer, Scientist (London)...Issue 32, p2 Civil Justice Council supports introduction of US-style contingency fees and abolition of the loser-pays costs rule John Meltzer and Dan Armstrong (London)...Issue 33, p15 Insurance coverage: status quo preserved in asbestos cases Matthew Hibbert (London)...Issue 33, p29

8 European Product Liability Review Consolidated Index March December 2008, Issues Lovells has a comprehensive product liability practice covering all aspects of product safety as well as civil and criminal liability. We have experience of acting for clients in respect of a wide range of products including food, pharmaceuticals, cars, tobacco, mobile phones, cosmetics, electrical and electronic products, toys, sporting goods, blood products, aircraft and trains. Lovells product liability lawyers are supported by a dedicated Science Unit and Project Management Unit. If you would like more information about Lovell s products liability practice, please visit our website at or contact any of the following: John Meltzer (London) T +44 (0) john.meltzer@lovells.com Rod Freeman (London) T +44 (0) rod.freeman@lovells.com Klaas Bisschop (Amsterdam) T +31 (0) klaas.bisschop@lovells.com Christopher Thomas (Brussels) T christopher.thomas@lovells.com Francesca Rolla (Milan) T francesca.rolla@lovells.com Ina Brock (Munich) T ina.brock@lovells.com Joe Cyr (New York) T joe.cyr@lovells.com Thomas Rouhette (Paris) T thomas.rouhette@lovells.com Gian Paolo Zanchini (Rome) T gianpaolo.zanchini@lovells.com Doug Clark (Shanghai) T doug.clark@lovells.com Lloyd Parker (Tokyo) T lloyd.parker@lovells.com Ewa Rutkowska (Warsaw) T ewa.rutkowska@lovells.com Lovells European Product Liability Review is distributed worldwide free of charge to clients and others with an interest in international product liability issues. If you would like additional copies of this publication, or if you wish to be added to our mailing list for future editions, please return the form enclosed with this edition, or contact a member of the editorial team by telephone or Rod Freeman T +44 (0) rod.freeman@lovells.com Matthew Hibbert T +44 (0) matthew.hibbert@lovells.com Siobhan Thomson T +44 (0) siobhan.thomson@lovells.com Claire Taylor T +44 (0) claire.taylor@lovells.com Neal Moglin (Chicago) T neal.moglin@lovells.com Allan Leung (Hong Kong) T allan.leung@lovells.com José Luis Huerta (Madrid) T joseluis.huerta@lovells.com