Texas Adopts a System of Pure Comparative Apportionment for Strict Products Liability Cases

On July 13, 1983, the Texas Supreme Court decided Duncan v.. Cessna Aircraft Co., this began a significant change in Texas law. The court held that, in cases tried after the effective date of the decision, a strictly liable products defendant may obtain a jury allocation of damages according to all parties' respective percentages of fault. This article will discuss and analyze the Duncan decision as well as the evolution of strict products liability in Texas, which led to that landmark decision.