Can a plaintiff buy a product just to sue the company? 12 Answers as of February 20, 2012

Only if you want to go to jail.

Can you? Of course. Will that affect how the case is viewed by the judicial officer or jury if they find out? of course. There are people out there that do things like that; e.g, handicapped people purposely going to restaurants and gas stations and then suing for violations of the ADA for bathrooms not being to code or the handicapped parking space not being to code, etc. They get labeled as shake-down artists. So if you do this, it could be viewed this way. All liability claims require damages. So buying a product and not really suffering damages but claiming you are damaged is a real problem too. On the other hand, if you are acting like a watch dog and doing this because the product is dangerous and you are trying to bring that out and prevent people from getting injured or sick, and not really for monetary gain, then that's a different ball game.

No. You must be injured as a result of the product. If you are simply buying a product to injury yourself to initiate a lawsuit, you would be committing insurance fraud.

Washington law regarding Product Liability defines a "Product liability claim" as one that "includes any claim or action brought for harm caused by the manufacture, production, making, construction, fabrication, design, formula, preparation, assembly, installation, testing, warnings, instructions, marketing, packaging, storage or labeling of the relevant product. It includes, but is not limited to, any claim or action previously based on: Strict liability in tort; negligence; breach of express or implied warranty; breach of, or failure to, discharge a duty to warn or instruct, whether negligent or innocent; misrepresentation, concealment, or nondisclosure, whether negligent or innocent; or other claim or action previously based on any other substantive legal theory except fraud, intentionally caused harm or a claim or action under the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW." RCW 7.72.010 (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=7.72.010). The operative word here is "harm". If there was no harm, then there is no cause of action. Any tort action has four elements: duty, breach, proximate cause, and damages. If your damages were zero, then your recovery should be zero. See also cases i.e. SEAY v. CHRYSLER CORPORATION, 93 Wn.2d 319, 609 P.2d 1382 (1980) at http://www.mrsc.org/wa/courts/index_dtSearch.html.

It depends on the nature of the lawsuit. Purchasing a product with knowledge that it is likely to cause an injury then attempting to sue over that injury may give the manufacturer sold grounds to raise the defense of acceptance of the risk and/or contributory negligence.

No. An essential element of a products liability action is damage to the consumer/user. Or, as we say on the ball field, "no harm, no foul."

People can do almost anything but it would make no sense to buy a product thinking you were going to sue the manufacturer. It is hard to imagine an attorney who would participate in such a plan. There would be no recovery of damages for buying a product unless it caused injury or damage. If you bought a product intending to sue the manufacturer for a defect and then used the product to cause injury or damage, it would be your fault for intentionally causing injury or damage to yourself. There would be no recovery of your damages from the manufacturer. Don't do it.

That consumer who already has an attorney, should obtain specific legal advice and direction from that attorney. For a second legal opinion, he should specifically consult with a product liability lawyer.

That's an interesting question. I'm not certain how you would prove their intent when making the purchase, but even then, I'm not sure why someone would willingly injure themselves just for the headache of litigation. Regardless, if the product is legitimately for sale on the market, then the consumer has the right to buy it.

I assume, or rather I hope, that you're looking for an exemplar of a product that caused an injury or some other harm. If that's the case, then of course you can.