Yes. A pet sold in a store counts as a "product." The pet store argued that animals can't be products because they are alive and can change. The judge disagreed, saying that just because it might be tricky to prove the pet was sick at the time of sale doesn't mean it's not a product. The judge believed it's important to protect people from harm, and a store that sells a sick animal should be held responsible just like a store that sells a broken machine. Other state laws already treat animals like things you can buy, which supports this decision.

Yes, a pet can be considered a product under Connecticut's law about faulty products in some situations. I think that just because animals change over time doesn't mean they can't be products. It's more about whether the change is big enough to matter. Our laws already deal with products that can change, like food. Also, sometimes experts can show that an animal was sick before it was sold. I agree with some other courts that have said pets can be products, especially when they're sick and hurt people who buy them. Connecticut already treats animals like things you can buy and sell in other laws. So, in this case, I think the pet can be treated like a product under our law about faulty products.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<opinion type="majority">
<author id="b202-6">
 Samuel S. Freedman, J.
 </author>

 This case presents a novel question: Is a pet animal a “product” under Connecticut’s product liability law, General Statutes § 52-572m et seq.?
 

 The complaint alleges serious eye damage and loss of sight by a child resulting from exposure to a diseased, parasite-carrying puppy purchased by the child’s mother from the defendant’s pet shop. The defendant moves to strike, arguing that a dog is not a product within the meaning of § 52-572 et seq. of the General Statutes.
 

 “Product” is not defined by that law. Nor are there relevant Connecticut cases. Other jurisdictions which considered the issue have split.
 

 The defendant relies on Illinois cases and a federal case in which the courts disapproved applying product liability laws to a transaction involving live animals. Noting the changing nature of living creatures which constantly interact with their environment, the courts in
 
 Whitmer
 
 v.
 
 Schneble,
 
 29 Ill. App. 3d 659, 331 N.E.2d 114 (1975), and in
 
 Anderson
 
 v.
 
 Farmers Hybrid Cos.,
 
 87 Ill. App. 3d 493, 408 N.E.2d 1194 (1980), concluded that this prevents the inclusion of animals within the theory advanced by § 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. Product liability, they argue, requires that products reach the consumer without change from their condition at the time of sale.
 

 The approach of the Illinois courts appears to prove too much. This court believes these cases inadequately analyze the interrelationship between mutability and product status. See note, “The Applicability of Strict Products Liability to Sales of Live Animals,” 67 Iowa L. Rev. 803 (1982).
 

 
 *181
 
 While § 402A makes mutability of the product highly significant on the issue of liability in any particular case, it does not speak to the question of product status. Since liability provisions require that the product reach the consumer without substantial change in its condition, a plaintiff cannot prove a case under this theory in the face of such change. But it does not necessarily follow logically that inability to prove a case because of mutability means that an animal is not a product at all. Rather it means that liability may not attach to that particular product. The argument confuses proof of liability with status.
 

 Not all product change provides exemption — only substantial change. Moreover, General Statutes §
 
 52-5721
 
 et seq. and analogous product statutes do apply to products which are susceptible to a change in character over time (e.g., food products, pressurized bottles, etc.). The Restatement
 <a class="footnote" href="#fn1" id="fn1_ref">
 1
 </a>
 and product liability statutes clearly anticipate and make provision for the effects of a change in character; see, for instance, General Statutes § 52-572p (“[limitation of liability of product seller”); note, supra, 67 Iowa L. Rev. 803; providing for exemption from liability in applicable cases. Without doubt, a product can undergo sufficient change that its seller will be shielded from strict liability in tort. See
 
 Hanlon
 
 v.
 
 Cyril Bath Co.,
 
 541 F.2d 343 (3d Cir. 1975);
 
 Hawkeye-Security Ins. Co.
 
 v.
 
 Ford Motor Co.,
 
 174 N.W.2d 672 (Iowa 1970).
 

 On the other hand, it is entirely possible that in a given case, expert opinion can establish that because of the stage in which a disease appears, the animal must have been similarly infected prior to sale. Thus, externally caused change may be testimonially eliminated as an exemption. Similarly, a rider thrown by a horse suffering from an inadequately healed leg fracture dat
 
 *182
 
 ing to a time prior to sale might logically oppose any attempt to defeat his claim grounded upon a mutability argument. See note, supra, 67 Iowa L. Rev. 803.
 

 In
 
 Kaplan
 
 v.
 
 C Lazy U Ranch,
 
 615 F. Sup. 234, 236 (D. Colo. 1985) where a dude ranch client was injured by an unruly horse, the court held that generally, living things are not “products” within the scope of the doctrine of strict tort liability which requires that a product’s nature be fixed when it leaves the seller’s control. The case is distinguishable. A
 
 diseased condition
 
 of an animal is a defect more relevant to an animal as a product than is an animal’s
 
 behavior,
 
 which is not a condition inherent in the animal but a response to any number of environmental factors.
 
 Kaplan
 
 is inapposite to the facts of this case.
 

 In two fairly recent cases courts have found that a live animal is a product for purposes of product statutes, and both cases concern
 
 pets
 
 sold to consumers. In the first, a New York case,
 
 Beyer
 
 v.
 
 Aquarium Supply Co.,
 
 94 Misc. 2d 336, 337, 406 N.Y.S.2d 778 (1977), the court held: “[Tjhere is no reason why a . . . vendor who places a diseased animal in the stream of commerce should be less accountable for his action than one who markets a defectively manufactured product. The risk presented to human well-being by a diseased animal is as great and probably greater than that created by a defectively manufactured product. . . .” This court finds it hard to argue with this enunciation of public policy.
 

 In
 
 Sease v. Taylor’s Pets,
 
 74 Or. App. 110, 700 P.2d 1054, rev. denied, 299 Or. 584, 704 P.2d 514 (1985), the court based its determination on two rationales. First, that the statute provided a defense for defendants whose products had undergone substantial change after sale. Second, that the purpose of the statute to provide more certain protection to consumers injured by defective products was appropriate for
 
 pets,
 
 where diseased conditions might not be apparent to consumers.
 

 
 *183
 
 Because the present case involves injury to a consumer by a diseased pet, the reasoning of
 
 Beyer
 
 and
 
 Sease
 
 are persuasive. The New York and Oregon decisions provide a realistic guide for determining the issue before us.
 

 The court is mindful that Connecticut’s public policy has already developed in this direction. The Uniform Commercial Code recognizes that animals are “goods.” In General Statutes § 42a-2-105, the legislature set forth that “ 'Goods’ also includes the unborn young of animals and growing crops. . . .” The case law bears this out. See
 
 Alpert
 
 v.
 
 Thomas,
 
 643 F. Sup. 1406 (D. Vt. 1986) (Arabian stallion);
 
 Clifton Cattle Co.
 
 v.
 
 Thompson,
 
 43 Cal. App. 3d 11, 117 Cal. Rptr. 500 (1974) (cattle);
 
 Key
 
 v.
 
 Bagen,
 
 136 Ga. App. 373, 221 S.E.2d 234 (1975) (horse); Vince v. Broome, 443 So. 2d 23 (Miss. 1982) (cattle);
 
 O’Shea v. Hatch,
 
 97 N.M. 409, 640 P.2d 515 (1982) (horse);
 
 Dempsey
 
 v.
 
 Rosenthal,
 
 121 Misc. 2d 612, 468 N.Y.S.2d 441 (1983) (pet poodle);
 
 Bazzini
 
 v.
 
 Garrant,
 
 116 Misc. 2d 119, 455 N.Y.S.2d 77 (1982) (bird);
 
 Aube
 
 v.
 
 O’Brien,
 
 140 Vt. 1, 433 A.2d 298 (1981) (cattle).
 

 In Public Acts 1988, No. 88-325, codified as General Statutes § 22-344b, the so-called “Pet Lemon Law,” the legislature clearly addresses pets as consumer products. This act requires pet store owners to perform periodic physical examinations upon pets in their custody and holds sellers responsible for diseased pets. Financial responsibility under the act is limited to the cost of the pet and does not extend to injuries to the buyer. Since the legislature is presumed to know the law, it can be argued that it did not also provide for injuries caused by the pet since that was already covered under the product liability law. In any event, the legislature holds pets to be products, and correspondingly, consumers may need protection from them.
 

 
 *184
 
 This court finds that a pet, under the circumstances of this case, is a product within the meaning of Connecticut’s product liability laws.
 <a class="footnote" href="#fn2" id="fn2_ref">
 2
 </a>


 The motion to strike is denied.
 


<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote" id="fn1" label="1">
<a class="footnote" href="#fn1_ref">
 1
 </a>

 The product “is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold.” 2 Restatement (Second), Torts § 402A, comment 8 (defective condition).
 
</div><div class="footnote" id="fn2" label="2">
<a class="footnote" href="#fn2_ref">
 2
 </a>

 The court notes the practical approach proposed by the note, “The Application of Strict Products Liability to Sales of Live Animals,” 67 Iowa L. Rev. 803, 821 (1982), which argues that a rebuttable presumption of inapplicability will permit compensation when the claimant can show that the pet’s mutability did not significantly contribute to the defect.
 
</div></div></opinion>

Yes. A pet animal is a "product" for the purposes of Connecticut's product liability law. The court rejected the defendant's argument that an animal's mutable nature disqualifies it from being a product, reasoning that this argument improperly confuses the ability to prove liability with the item's fundamental status as a product. The court found persuasive public policy arguments from other jurisdictions, such as New York, which held that a vendor who places a diseased animal into the stream of commerce should be just as accountable as one who markets a defectively manufactured product. Furthermore, the court noted that other Connecticut statutes, including the Uniform Commercial Code (which defines animals as "goods") and the state's "Pet Lemon Law," already treat animals as consumer products, indicating a legislative policy consistent with this holding.

Yes, a pet can be considered a 'product' under Connecticut's product liability law under certain circumstances. I find that the approach taken by the Illinois courts, which argues that the changing nature of living creatures prevents their inclusion under product liability theory, proves too much. This approach inadequately analyzes the interrelationship between mutability and product status. While mutability is significant for determining liability, it does not necessarily preclude an animal from being considered a product. The argument confuses proof of liability with status. Not all product changes provide exemption from liability - only substantial changes do. Our product liability statutes already apply to products susceptible to change over time, such as food products. Moreover, it's possible that expert testimony could establish that a disease in an animal must have been present prior to sale, thus eliminating externally caused change as an exemption from liability. I find the reasoning in Beyer v. Aquarium Supply Co. and Sease v. Taylor's Pets persuasive, as they involve injuries to consumers by diseased pets. These cases provide a realistic guide for determining this issue. Additionally, Connecticut's public policy has already developed in this direction. The Uniform Commercial Code recognizes animals as 'goods,' and the legislature has addressed pets as consumer products in the 'Pet Lemon Law.' Therefore, I conclude that a pet, under the circumstances of this case, is a product within the meaning of Connecticut's product liability laws.

Worrell v. Sachs

Premium Feature

Rule of Law:

Facts:

Procedural Posture:

Premium Content

Issue:

Opinions:

Majority - Freedman, J.

Analysis: