General Motors Corporation, Petitioners v. R. M. Hopkins, Jr., Respondent

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court affirmed the judgment for Hopkins, holding that a plaintiff's misuse of a product is not a defense to strict products liability when the product's defect is a producing cause of the injury. The Court further explained that when misuse is a concurring cause, the plaintiff's recovery may be reduced proportionally to the extent the misuse contributed to the harm, but no reduction was ordered here because the evidence did not establish a percentage. The decision rests on the jury's findings of a design defect in the carburetor and the lack of sufficient proof that Hopkins' alterations were the proximate cause of the accident.