NC · jury_instructions
N.C.P.I.—Civil 744.16
PRODUCTS LIABILITY-MANUFACTURER'S DEFENSE OF INHERENT CHARACTERISTIC.
NOTE WELL: Use this instruction only with causes of
action arising on or after January 1, 1996.
The (state number) issue reads:
"Was the plaintiff's [injury] [death] [damage] caused by a generally
recognized, substantially necessary inherent characteristic of the (name
product)?"
You will answer this issue only if you have answered the (state
number) issue "Yes" in favor of the plaintiff.
On this issue the burden of proof is on the defendant. This means
that the defendant must prove, by the greater weight of the evidence,
two things:3
First, that the plaintiff's [injury] [death] [damage] was caused by
an inherent characteristic of the (name product) that cannot be
eliminated without substantially compromising its usefulness or
desirability.
Second, that such inherent characteristic of the (name product) is
recognized by the ordinary person with the ordinary knowledge common
to the community.
Finally, as to this issue on which the defendant has the burden of
proof, if you find by the greater weight of the evidence that the plaintiff's
[injury] [death] [damage] was caused by a generally recognized,
substantially necessary inherent characteristic of the (name product),
then it would be your duty to answer this issue "Yes" in favor of the
defendant.
If, on the other hand, you fail to so find, then it would be your duty
to answer this issue "No" in favor of the plaintiff.
History
N.C.P.I.—Civil 744.16 (May 1999). N.C. Gen. Stat. § 99B-6(c). Prepared by the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges' Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions, assisted by the UNC School of Government; published by the School of Government.
Provenance
- Source
- sog.unc.edu
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-24
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
068ba90f2e8d8810660eee0eb2acbdfde6108fd457b61e714b0ffae02d494554
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