Defenses and Affirmative Defenses
Product and Tort Defenses
Under Boyle, a contractor is immune where the government approved reasonably precise specifications, the equipment conformed to them, and the contractor warned of dangers known to it but not to the government.
The elements are conjunctive.
Alternative Names:
Boyle Defense, Military Contractor Defense
Why it Matters?
The warning element is where the defense most often fails, since it requires establishing what the contractor knew relative to the government's own extensive knowledge, and internal documents showing undisclosed hazard awareness defeat it. Federal officer removal accompanies the defense and provides a route to federal court that is independently valuable. The defense extends beyond military procurement in some applications.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Which element fails most often?
What procedural advantage accompanies it?
