There is a different burden of proof for civil cases than for criminal cases. You do not need to prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt. The standard uses is the preponderance of evidence. I am not positive, but I believe that in some jurisdictions a unanimous jury verdict is not required for civil cases.
There will be many things that affect the case. Both sides will call in expert witnesses. Was the defendant notified in a reasonable time that their product was suspected of causing the fire? Were they allowed to send an expert to the forensic investigation? Was the scene maintained until the defendant's expert could arrive? You may have a local fire marshal who make a judgement about the initial cause of fire by burn and smoke patterns, equipment analysis and other conditions. Other fire marshals may hear the business or home owner claim that a product started the fire and take that person at their word. If the plaintiff has limited evidence, they may have a hard time proving their case. Even if a local jury finds for the plaintiff, it may be overturned on appeal if the evidence is weak or completely lacking. The defendant will want further information to document the use of the product. The Dell monitor was in an automobile repair shop. What were the environmental conditions? Were temperatures reasonable? Was the environment clean or full of dust, dirt and oil? Was the product handled properly or physically abused? Was the shop wired correctly? Where there transients caused by welders or other high current electrical devices that may be improperly used or wired? I know none of the evidence in these cases, but I can easily see situations that strongly favor one side or the other. In the United States, it is not uncommon for a plaintiff to win at trial but to loose on appeal. The appeal process generally sets a higher standard than the initial trial. It may cost the manufacturer more to go though an appeal, but it discourages further law suits. The plaintiff's attorney won't get paid if the case is lost at trial or on appeal. The initial court victories often make the news, but jury verdicts overturned on appeal rarely get much notice. Ted Eckert American Power Conversion/MGE http://www.apc.com/ The items contained in this e-mail reflect the personal opinions of the writer and are only provided for the assistance of the reader. The writer is not speaking in an official capacity for APC-MGE or Schneider Electric. The speaker does not represent APC-MGE's or Schneider Electric's official position on any matter. "Kunde, Brian" <brian_kunde@leco tc.com> To Sent by: <[email protected]> [email protected] cc Subject 01/17/2008 01:01 RE: fire hazards from cheap PM computers ? My question is regarding what would happen in such a trial. Where does the burden fall? Would the plaintiff have to prove that the computer started the fire without any user misuse? The manufacturer can claim their product is NRLT and state that if their product did catch on fire it would have to be caused by misuse by the user. Is there ever a third part investigator who can determine the cause? In stalemate cases, who prevails? I have worked on computers from individuals and companies where I cannot figure out why it didn't start on fire. I've opened up PCs with so much dust and lint built up inside you cannot even find the motherboard. Computers with non-working fans, mouse nests and chewed up wires, dead bugs, cigarette smoke residue with dust so think I had to scrap it off with a putty knife. One computer was from a small factory where they did metal grinding and the computer was full of metal dust (very flammable). And we have all seen how people put their PCs on the floor or desk and pile papers and junk all around it as well as the monitor (my wife's computer is like that). A fire waiting to happen. Are computer manufacturers responsible if one of these catch fire? The Other Brian From: Arthur Michael [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 11:58 AM To: Kunde, Brian Cc: Brian O'Connell; [email protected] Subject: RE: fire hazards from cheap computers ? Hello Brian, et al, With respect to your comment below re NRTL Listed products and related "troubles": I'll bet Dell or HP (your examples) and most others, have had their share of "troubles" and could tell you "tales" that would curl your hair. Do remember that the electrical safety standards are minimum requirements; There are plenty of opportunities for things to go "wrong" (including substituted parts, counterfeit components, poor manufacturing techniques, etc.). If you check the CPSC Recall Lists, you'll find a number of NRTL Listed Products exhibiting "troubles". Most of the majors have at least one recall at some time in the past (and, I only searched on their category - "Computer Equipment" and disregarded the recent flurry of battery-related "troubles". Best regards, Art Int'l Product Safety News A.E. Michael, Editor P.O. Box 1561 INT Middletown CT 06457-8061 U.S.A. Phone : (860) 344-1651 Email : [email protected] Website: http://www.safetylink.com ISSN : 1040-7529 =========================================== On Thu, 17 Jan 2008, Kunde, Brian wrote: > Dell and HP products would be NRTL listed, so how much trouble could > they get into? > > The Other Brian > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brian > O'Connell > Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 11:05 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: fire hazards from cheap computers ? > > http://itnews.com.au/News/68096,dell-hp-computers-sparked-catastrophic > -f > ir > es-lawsuits-claim.aspx > > As these are not related to battery problems in portable machines, can > we assume cheap garbage power supplies ? > > I attempted to find a supporting trend on the U.S. CPSC, but no joy. > Anyone have any root-cause information of these flame-outs ? > > R/S, > Brian > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society > emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > > To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] > > Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html > > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > > Scott Douglas [email protected] > Mike Cantwell [email protected] > > For policy questions, send mail to: > > Jim Bacher: [email protected] > David Heald: [email protected] > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > > http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc > > LECO Corporation Notice: This communication may contain confidential information intended for the named recipient(s) only. If you received this by mistake, please destroy it and notify us of the error. Thank you. > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society > emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > > To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] > > Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html > > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > > Scott Douglas [email protected] > Mike Cantwell [email protected] > > For policy questions, send mail to: > > Jim Bacher: [email protected] > David Heald: [email protected] > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > > http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc > LECO Corporation Notice: This communication may contain confidential information intended for the named recipient(s) only. If you received this by mistake, please destroy it and notify us of the error. Thank you. - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas [email protected] Mike Cantwell [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: [email protected] David Heald: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas [email protected] Mike Cantwell [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: [email protected] David Heald: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc
