Engrossed Senate Bill No. 754 Summary

• Establishes the "Rational Use of a Product Act" creating liability protection for sellers against claims arising from unreasonable misuse of their products.

• Defines "misuse" as use of a product for a purpose or manner different from its manufactured purpose, including uses unintended by the seller, inconsistent with specifications, or contrary to provided instructions or warnings.

• Allows damages reduction proportional to any unreasonable misuse that contributed to injury, with the trier of fact able to determine if harm resulted solely from such misuse.

• Establishes standards for product defect claims, limiting design defect liability to cases where alternative designs could have significantly reduced foreseeable risks from reasonable misuse without unreasonably increasing costs or reducing product efficiency.

• Effective date: November 1, 2013.