Did the Court Just Look at Facebook On Its Own?
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In a products liability case Circuit Judge Diane Wood referenced a Facebook Fan Page. Here is the exact passage:
HP may be correct that Ferraro was not using the product in the precise manner intended by the manufacturer, insofar as the power adapter was designed to rest on a flat surface with ample ventilation, but this is beside the point. The appropriate inquiry for the consumer-expectations test is whether the product performed as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect when used in “an intended or reasonably foreseeable manner.” Lamkin, 563 N.E.2d at 457 (emphasis added). The great virtue of a laptop is that it can be used on one’s lap, while sitting on a sofa, or perhaps while in bed. Indeed, we note that the Facebook page for “Using the laptop in bed” (Mission: “Public awareness of the usage of laptops in bed”) has nearly one million “Likes.” See www.facebook.com/ pages/Using-the-laptop-in-bed/95445955714?fref=ts (last visited June 28, 2013). Our analysis would be no different if the power adapter had started a fire in the sofa while Ferraro was in the next room; in either case, the consumer’s use of the product would be the same. A jury could conclude that Ferraro was using the power adapter in a “reasonably foreseeable” manner when the relevant harm occurred.
Ferraro v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 13569, 12-13 (7th Cir. Ill. July 3, 2013) [Emphasis added].
Read original articleTags: Facebook, Facebook Fan Page, power adapter
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