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Products Liability Keyed to Fischer, 6th Ed.
Jae Kim v. Toyota Motor Corporation
Citation:
6 Cal.5th 21, 424 P.3d 290, 237 Cal.Rptr.3d 205 (2018)Facts
In April 2010, William Jae Kim was driving his 2005 Toyota Tundra pickup truck on a mountain road in rainy conditions when he allegedly encountered an oncoming vehicle crossing into his lane. After performing a series of steering maneuvers, Kim lost control of his vehicle, which ran off the road and down a cliff. Kim suffered serious spinal cord injuries that rendered him a quadriplegic. Kim and his wife sued Toyota, claiming the Tundra was defectively designed because it lacked Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) as standard equipment, offering it only as an optional feature. At trial, both parties presented evidence about industry practices regarding VSC implementation. The Kims introduced evidence that Toyota had made VSC standard in its SUVs but not in pickup trucks, despite similar loss-of-control risks. Toyota presented evidence that no pickup truck manufacturer in 2005 included VSC as standard equipment, and that the 2005 Tundra was the first pickup to offer VSC even as an option. Toyota also explained the industry practice of “phasing in” new safety technologies as optional before making them standard.
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