Preventing Successor Liability for Defective Products: Safeguards for Acquiring Corporations

In recent years, many courts have determined longstanding limitations on successor liability to be insufficiently sensitive to the compensation needs of products liability claimants. In response, courts in several jurisdictions have eroded traditional corporate law immunities to successor liability for defective products. Although this liberalization of the principles of successor liability has expanded the range of potential defendants in many tort lawsuits, the expansion of liability has caused an increase in uncertainty in corporate transactions, and an increase in complex legal and logistical maneuvering to avoid the growing liability web. This Article seeks to outline the expansion of successor liability in the products area, note the negative implications of that expansion, and identify mechanisms to prevent the attachment of successor liability under both the traditional and expanded regimes. The Article also prescribes a statutory alternative to create much needed stability and certainty in this area through a straightforward allocation of liabilities between purchasers and sellers

Effect of once-yearly zoledronic acid on the spine and hip as measured by quantitative computed tomography: results of the HORIZON Pivotal Fracture Trial.

Changes in bone mineral density and bone strength following treatment with zoledronic acid (ZOL) were measured by quantitative computed analysis (QCT) or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). ZOL treatment increased spine and hip BMD vs placebo, assessed by QCT and DXA. Changes in trabecular bone resulted in increased bone strength. INTRODUCTION: To investigate bone mineral density (BMD) changes in trabecular and cortical bone, estimated by quantitative computed analysis (QCT) or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and whether zoledronic acid 5 mg (ZOL) affects bone strength. METHODS: In 233 women from a randomized, controlled trial of once-yearly ZOL, lumbar spine, total hip, femoral neck, and trochanter were assessed by DXA and QCT (baseline, Month 36). Mean percentage changes from baseline and between-treatment differences (ZOL vs placebo, t-test) were evaluated. RESULTS: Mean between-treatment differences for lumbar spine BMD were significant by DXA (7.0%, p < 0.01) and QCT (5.7%, p < 0.0001). Between-treatment differences were significant for trabecular spine (p = 0.0017) [non-parametric test], trabecular trochanter (10.7%, p < 0.0001), total hip (10.8%, p < 0.0001), and compressive strength indices at femoral neck (8.6%, p = 0.0001), and trochanter (14.1%, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Once-yearly ZOL increased hip and spine BMD vs placebo, assessed by QCT vs DXA. Changes in trabecular bone resulted in increased indices of compressive strength