Products Liability Law Reporter

A federal district court held that dismissal was not warranted in a case alleging that various Subaru entities were liable for injuries sustained by a driver after her air bag allegedly deployed with excessive force after a minor collision.

Rebecca Rentz James made a sharp right turn while driving her 2011 Subaru Outback. The car’s right front fender made brief contact with a tree adjacent to the roadway, causing minor damage to the vehicle. Rentz James brought the car to a stop after quickly regaining control of the vehicle. The car’s driver-side curtain air bag deployed, striking Rentz James in the upper left side of her body. She suffered a cervical spinal fracture and soft tissue injuries, among other things.

Rentz James sued Subaru Corp., Subaru of America, Inc., and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., alleging breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, negligence, and failure to warn. The defendants moved to dismiss.

Denying the motion, the court rejected the defense argument that the plaintiff had failed to adequately plead her claims because she failed to identify a particular defect in the air bag. The court found that the plaintiff was not required to prove her claim by putting forth evidence of an available alternative design or proof that the air bag had deployed with dangerous force. At the pleading stage, the court found, the plaintiff must allege enough facts for the court to conclude that a manufacturing or design defect exists and that such a defect proximately caused the plaintiff’s injuries. The court concluded that the plaintiff—who alleged the defendant’s air bag was defective because it deployed after minor, non-dangerous contact—had met her burden. It is plausible that but for the alleged defect in the air bag, the plaintiff would not have been injured, the court said.

Consequently, the court held that the plaintiff had sufficiently placed the defendants on notice, and dismissal was not warranted.

Citation: James v. Subaru Corp., 2022 WL 625091 (W.D. Va. Mar. 3, 2022).

Plaintiff counsel: Francis H. Casola and Mark D. Loftis, both of Roanoke, Va.