Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 95.djvu/975

 PUBLIC LAW 97-45—SEPT. 25, 1981

95 STAT. 949

Public Law 97-45 97th Congress An Act To facilitate the ability of product sellers to establish product liability risk retention groups, to facilitate the ability of such sellers to purchase product liability insure ance on a group basis, and for other purposes.

Sept. 25, 1981 [H.R. 2120]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, Pr<*d"ct Liability « ^ ^ «. -™., « SHORT TTTLB

1. This Act may be cited as the ''Product Liability Risk Retention Act of 1981".

Risk Retention Act of 1981. 15 USC 3901

SECTION

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 2. (a) As used in this Act— is use 3901. (1) "completed operations liability" means liability arising out of the installation, maintenance, or repair of any product at a site which is not owned or controlled by— (A) any person who performs that work; or (B) any person who hires an independent contractor to perform that work: but shall include liability for activities which are completed or abandoned before the date of the occurrence giving rise to the liability; (2) "insurance" means primary insurance, excess insurance, reinsurance, surplus lines insurance, and any other arrangement for shifting and distributing risk which is determined to be insurance under applicable State or Federal law; (3) "product liabuity" means liability for damages because of any personal ii\jury, death, emotional harm, consequential economic damage, or property damage (including damages resulting from the loss of use of property) arising out of the manufacture, design, importation, distribution, packaging, labeling, lease, or sale of a product, but does not include the liabilify of any person for those damages if the product involved was in the possession of such a person when the incident giving rise to the claim occurred; (4) "risk retention group" means any corporation or other limited liability association taxable as a corporation, or as an insurance company, formed under the laws of any State, Ber^ muda, or the Cayman Islands— (A) whose primary activity consists of assuming and spreading all, or any portion, of the product liability or completed operations liability risk exposure of its group members; (B) which is organized for the primary purpose of conducting the activity described under subparagraph (A); (C) which is chartered or licensed as an insurance company and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of any State, or which is so chartered or

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