Case Update: Mesman v. Crane Pro Services

The new edition of the David Owen et al. Products Liability casebook uses Mesman v. Crane Pro Services, 409 F.3d 846 (7th Cir. 2005) to discuss negligence in design (using Indiana's statutory products liability provisions).  In case you're using that book (as I am now), the Seventh Circuit, again with Posner writing the opinion, heard it a second time and ruled a couple of weeks ago [PDF].  It has another interesting discussion of the Learned Hand formula, along with some relatively uninteresting jury instruction material -- though even that has a good bit about the interplay of "open and obvious dangers" with "incurred risk."

--BC