Facts

Second Chance Body Armor Inc. manufactured, packaged and sold bullet-resistant vests, including the Ultima Body Armor Vest. Toyobo Co. Ltd. provided the Zylon fiber used as a component in the vest's ballistic panels. Ultima vests were advertised by Second Chance as the newest, lightest, and best body-armor available. Second Chance claimed that it performed better than Kevlar, which was the industry standard. Victor Alvarez, a police officer for the city of Los Angeles, was wearing a Second Chance Ultima Body Armor vest on Dec. 6, 2002. He was on duty when he was shot near his right shoulder with a 12-gague shotgun. He filed suit against Second Chance Body Armor Inc. and Toyobo Co. Ltd. for product liability.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff claimed that Second Chance and Toyobo knew as early as 1998 that Zylon lost strength when exposed to fluorescent light for extended periods of time. Then, in 2001, Toyobo learned that the strength of the Zylon fiber decreased in high temperatures or under humid conditions. Toyobo allegedly shared this information with Second Chance, and Second Chance was aware that there may come a time when the vest would no longer stop bullets that they were designed and rated to stop. In December 2001, defendants held a "Zylon Crisis Management Meeting" to discuss the "disappointing and unexpected" ballistic test results. The defendants agreed that the Zylon material was degrading at a faster rate than they had anticipated. The chairman and founder of Second Chance wrote an internal memo to Second Chance executives addressing two "possible solutions," one was to discontinue making the vests; the other was to "continue operating as though nothing [is] wrong until one of our customers is killed." Second Chance continued to design, manufacture and sell the vests until Sept. 9, 2003, when a final recall was issued on Ultima vests. Neither plaintiff nor any other consumer were made aware of the fact that the Zylon material was known to deteriorate and experience hydrolysis problems.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The defendants contended that the plaintiff’s vest was not defective and performed precisely as it was designed to perform. The shot that impacted the plaintiff’s vest hit within an inch of the edge of the vest, which is outside of the “fair hit” zone. The federal agency that tests and certifies bullet-resistant vests has acknowledged that no ballistic material can continually and reliably stop impacts this close to a vest’s edge. Additionally, the plaintiff’s vest was not designed to stop a shotgun blast, especially at such close range. Nonetheless, the plaintiff’s vest did stop all of the pellets that impacted it. The plaintiff’s injuries resulted from pellets that did not fully impact the vest.

Injuries

The plaintiff sustained a gunshot injury to his dominant shoulder, which resulted in permanent disabilities in his right arm and hand. He is unable to hold or fire a gun with his right hand, and the fingers on his right hand cannot be straightened. As a result of his injuries, his right had is also smaller than his left. He experiences pain throughout his entire right extremity. The plaintiff has returned to work with the LAPD at a desk job.

Result

The parties settled for $775,000. Second Chance paid $465,000 and Toyobo paid $310,000.