United States · Bill · HR
H.R. 359 (101st)
Product Liability Uniform Standards Act
Introduced
3 January 1989
Last action
27 March 1989 · Referred
Status
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic and Commercial Law.
Sponsors
Rep. Roth, Toby [R-WI-8]
Subjects
Environment
Source updated
26 August 2025
Summary
Product Liability Uniform Standards Act - Sets forth uniform national standards for product liability cases. Preempts inconsistent State laws. Declares that the provisions of this Act shall be inapplicable in certain environmental actions. Makes negligence the sole test for all defective design and failure-to-warn product liability actions. Places the burden of proof on the claimant in such cases. Treats the product seller as the manufacturer (for the purposes of such actions) if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process; or (2) the court determines that the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Requires damages to be reduced by the amount of workers' compensation benefits paid. Makes a product manufacturer or seller who acted with reckless disregard for the consumers' safety liable for punitive damages. Lists factors for the trier of fact to consider when determining the amount of punitive damages. Directs the Judicial Conference of the United States to establish a Product Liability Damages Review Panel to conduct a study of damages in relation to the product liability litigation system. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose for FY 1990.
This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.
Timeline
3 January 1989
Introduced
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Source: IntroReferral
3 January 1989
Introduced
Introduced in House
Source: IntroReferral
3 January 1989
Introduced
Introduced in House
Source: IntroReferral
6 February 1989
Referred
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Competitiveness.
Source: Committee
27 March 1989
Referred
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic and Commercial Law.
Source: Committee
Votes
No vote records are attached yet.
Versions
- Introduced in House · — · Download file
Documents
2 official files
Introduced in House (text)
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Leesvertaling
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Introduced in House (text)
Introduced in House · EN
Introduced in House
summary · EN · 3 January 1989
Leesvertaling
Vertaal dit document naar jouw taal. PoliticalRepo bewaart geen aparte kopie per EU-taal.
Documentvertaling op verzoek met downloadbare PDF (logo + link naar de officiële bron). Het bronbestand blijft leidend.
Sponsors
- Rep. Roth, Toby [R-WI-8] · R · Sponsor
- · hsju00 · Standing
- · hsif00 · Standing
Related records
No cross-record relationships stored yet.
Sources
PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.
- Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/house-bill/359
- Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/101/hr/359
- us · 101-hr-359 · source updated 26 August 2025