Document Type
Working Paper
Publication Date
2017
Disciplines
Business Organizations Law | Contracts | Law | Law and Economics | Torts
Center/Program
Center for Contract and Economic Organization
Center/Program
Center for Law and Economic Studies
Abstract
In the landmark case of MacPherson v. Buick, an automobile company was held liable for negligence notwithstanding a lack of privity with the injured driver. Four decades later, in Henningsen v. Bloomfield Motors, the court held unconscionable the standard automobile company warranty which limited its responsibility to repair and replacement, even in a case involving physical injury. This suggests a puzzle: if it were so easy for firms to contract out of liability, did MacPherson accomplish anything?
Recommended Citation
Victor P. Goldberg,
The MacPherson-Henningsen Puzzle,
Columbia Law & Economics Working Paper No. 570
(2017).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/2050
Included in
Business Organizations Law Commons, Contracts Commons, Law and Economics Commons, Torts Commons