Kan. High Court Asked to Decide Whether Illegality Defense Applies to Product Liability Claims

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Kansas Supreme Court has been asked to decide whether the illegality, or in pari delicto (IPD), affirmative defense can be applied to product liability claims, after a federal district court ruled that it bars wrongful death claims against a computer duster manufacturer.

In filing the Aug. 7 motion to certify, the plaintiff seeks to challenge the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas' rejection of his argument that the comparative fault rule applies, which would allow him to still collect damages, minus the amount of negligence attributed to the deceased.

Robbin Messerli’s son Kyle, 29, …