Multistate Bar Examination Practice Question

The manufacturer's strongest defense is comparative negligence. The homeowner failed to exercise reasonable care for his own safety by ignoring a clear warning and installing the device himself on a prohibited type of wiring, which constitutes misuse. In most jurisdictions, a plaintiff's own negligence that contributes to their injury can reduce or bar their recovery in a products liability case. While assumption of risk is a related defense where the plaintiff knowingly encounters a danger, comparative negligence more broadly covers the homeowner's failure to act as a reasonably prudent person under the circumstances. A superseding cause typically involves an unforeseeable, intervening event, which is less applicable here than the homeowner's own foreseeable misuse. The fact that the product was sold to a non-professional does not, by itself, absolve the manufacturer of liability.