Mark Berry, Eric Berry and Brooke Berry, Minors, by and Through Their Guardian, Ad Litem, Lorna J. Berry, and Lorna…

Summary

The Utah Supreme Court held that Utah's product-liability statute of repose was unconstitutional as applied to this wrongful-death action because it denied an effective remedy under the Utah Constitution's Open Courts Clause and violated the constitutional protection for wrongful-death actions. The court concluded that the statute's fixed six- and ten-year periods were arbitrary and did not substantially advance the Legislature's stated insurance and manufacturing objectives. Because the remaining provisions of the Product Liability Act were not severable from the invalid repose provision, the court invalidated the remainder of the Act and reversed and remanded. No separate opinions were filed.