James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA – Pennsylvania law applies to a Chinese-made pressure cooker eventually sold to a woman in Trinidad and Tobago who was burned when it exploded.
Philadelphia federal judge Timothy Savage was tasked with deciding whether to apply the laws of Trinidad, which does not have a strict liability cause of action, to plaintiff Dianne Charles’ lawsuit.
She sued in 2024 in Pennsylvania because defendant QVC is headquartered in West Chester. Last year, over QVC’s arguments, he kept the case in Pennsylvania even though the injury took place in a foreign country.
QVC then claimed there was a “true” conflict over whose laws to apply, but Savage this week disagreed.
“Defendants assert that Trinidad and Tobago deliberately chose not to adopt strict liability to encourage trade with foreign corporations,” he wrote.
“But they offer no evidence to support this contention. Hence, we cannot find Trinidad and Tobago made a deliberate choice to protect foreign corporations by choosing not to provide a strict liability cause of action.”
Pennsylvania, though, made a deliberate decision to allow lawyers to pursue that claim, and the Third Circuit has held the state has an interest in making sure companies in it aren’t held to a lower negligence standard, Savage wrote.
“The standard reflects Pennsylvania’s interest in regulating safety and maintaining a reputation for manufacturing safe products for consumers,” he added.
“Application of Pennsylvania law would not impair Trinidad and Tobago’s interest in its citizens recovering damages for injuries caused by foreign corporations like QVC and Spectrum Brands.”
Benjamin Present of Kline & Specter represents Charles. The pressure cooker was made in China and was marketed and sold by Salton, Inc., to QVC under the trademark “Cook’s Essentials.” Salton later merged with Spectrum.
It was more than 17 years old when the lid blew off in 2023, scalding Charles. She suffered disfiguring burns across her chest, stomach and face.
