Price v. Blaine Kern Artista, Inc.
893 P.2d 367 (1995)
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Rule of Law:
An intentional, criminal, or tortious act by a third party is not a superseding cause that absolves a product manufacturer of liability if the act and the resulting harm were reasonably foreseeable or if the product's defect was a substantial factor in causing the injury.
Facts:
- Blaine Kern Artista, Inc. (BKA) manufactured oversized caricature masks, including one of George Bush.
- The George Bush mask was heavy, covered the wearer's entire head, and lacked a safety harness to support the head and neck.
- Thomas Price worked as an entertainer at Harrah’s Club in Reno, a job that required him to wear the BKA-made George Bush mask.
- While Price was working, a patron, apparently upset with President Bush's policies on abortion rights, confronted him.
- The patron then pushed Price from behind, causing him to fall.
- As Price fell, the weight of the large, unsupported mask shifted, causing a strain and injury to his neck.
Procedural Posture:
- Thomas Price filed a lawsuit against Blaine Kern Artista, Inc. (BKA) in the district court (trial court), alleging strict products liability and negligence.
- BKA filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the patron's push was a superseding cause of Price's injuries.
- The district court granted summary judgment in favor of BKA.
- Price filed a motion for reconsideration, which the district court denied.
- Price (appellant) appealed the district court's entry of summary judgment to the Supreme Court of Nevada.
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Issue:
Does a third party's intentional act of pushing a person constitute an unforeseeable superseding cause that, as a matter of law, absolves a manufacturer of liability for a defective product that allegedly exacerbated the person's injuries upon falling?
Opinions:
Majority - Per Curiam
No. A third party's intentional act does not automatically constitute a superseding cause that relieves a manufacturer of liability as a matter of law. First, regarding the negligence claim, the chain of causation is not broken if the third party's intervening act is reasonably foreseeable. The court reasoned that a trier of fact could find it foreseeable that a person wearing an oversized caricature of a prominent political figure might provoke a violent reaction, such as a push, from intoxicated or politically volatile individuals. Second, regarding the strict products liability claim, the key inquiry is whether the product's design defect was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff's injury. The court determined that the immediate cause of Price's injury was the shifting weight of the allegedly defective mask, not the push itself. Since it is reasonably foreseeable that a user of such a top-heavy mask might fall for any number of reasons (stumbling, tripping, or being pushed), a jury could find that the manufacturer's failure to design for the consequences of a fall was a substantial factor in causing the specific neck injury Price sustained.
Analysis:
This decision reinforces the principle that foreseeability in tort law relates to the general type of risk, not the specific, bizarre sequence of events leading to an injury. By applying the 'second impact' or 'crashworthiness' doctrine outside its usual automotive context, the court affirmed that a manufacturer's duty can extend to mitigating injuries from foreseeable events, even if the product did not cause the initial event. The ruling clarifies that a third party's intentional tort does not serve as an automatic shield for a manufacturer in either negligence or strict liability if the product defect was a substantial cause of the ultimate harm. This broadens the scope of foreseeable 'use' and 'misuse' that manufacturers must consider when designing products.
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