In, Bensenberg v. FCA US LLC, No. 20-3407 (USDC CD IL April 8, 2022, the Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded the District Court’s grant of summary judgment. There, the trial court erred in granting the defendant-manufacturer’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff’s product liability claim for injuries sustained in one-car accident, when plaintiff’s vehicle’s front airbag did not deploy after vehicle hit concrete post The trial court had previously granted defendant’s motion in limine to exclude plaintiff’s expert’s opinion that vehicle’s airbag was defective. While trial court reasoned that there was flaw in plaintiff’s expert’s opinion, since he did not identify any purported defect in vehicle’s airbag system, expert’s opinion was admissible under plaintiff’s theory of manufacturing defect according to the 7th Circuit because the expert was not required to identify a particular defect in airbag system where plaintiff was pursuing a claim of non-specific defect. Moreover, plaintiff’s expert was qualified to render opinion as to vehicle’s speed at time of impact. As such, plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to make out prima facie case of strict liability for non-specific manufacturing defect, where: (1) plaintiff’s expert opined that vehicle was traveling around 53 miles per hour at time of impact with concrete post; (2) said speed was well above airbag deployment threshold; and (3) such facts, in absence of tampering or abuse, permit inference that there was non-specific defect in airbag system.
