Mack H. Shultz, Jr. Partner

The NewSpace industry involves cutting-edge technologies. It also raises cutting-edge product liability risks. Hundreds of entities can be involved in a launch, including launch service providers, spacecraft and component part manufacturers, payload manufacturers, launch site operators, and space flight participants. If something goes wrong during launch, orbit, or reentry, any one of these parties could potentially be at fault. Manufacturers of equipment that may be used in space should carefully assess their product liability risks—and proactively seek to mitigate those risks.

Perkins Coie is proud to announce that the third edition of A Manufacturer's Guide to Product Liability Law in the United States is now available as an e-book and in a Chinese printed version, as well as the original English printed version.

Oregon is one of 35 states where the legislature has successfully enacted a statute capping the amount of noneconomic damages, commonly known as “emotional distress,” that juries can award. With the issuance of two recent opinions from the Oregon Court of Appeals, however, Oregon now joins six other states with courts that have ruled such caps are unconstitutional.

Retailers and others in the chain of distribution can and should take steps to reduce their exposure to product liability claims.

A carefully conceived and well-implemented document retention policy has long been an important component of an effective corporate compliance program. Recent events have made reviewing and updating corporate document retention policies a priority for most companies.