July 16, 2021

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) filed an administrative complaint against Amazon.com, on July 14 2021 to force it to recall certain consumer products

The CPSC does not actually have the ability to "force" a US company to undertake a "voluntary recall". The vast majority of CPSC recalls are basically undertaken voluntarily. The degree of how voluntary or involuntary they are often depends on the nature of the safety problem, how widespread it is and also on the size of the company. Again in the vast majority of cases, such as recently with Peloton, the company relents and agrees to conduct a "voluntary" recall under the control of CPSC. In some cases however the CPSC either has to back down and accept what remediation and notification that has been done, or like in this case with Amazon, it literally has to sue Amazon to "force" it to recall the products under CPSC guidelines with the CPSC calling the shots (as usual) on the specifics of how the notifications will be sent out, what they say, the remedies etc.  The suit itself is quite a good read (and educational) and details the position the CPSC is asserting on Amazon's role in the sales and returns process and why it should be forced to undertake the recall (not the overseas manufacturers which the CPSC has no control over). Its quite an eyeopener. This is nothing short of extraordinary for the CPSC to do and again it only does so in egregious situations where it is quite certain a judge will agree with its findings. 

Obviously we would never counsel any of our clients to take such a step unless there were good reasons not to conduct a recall, but of course if that was the case the CPSC would not likely be suing the company. We always recommend cooperating with the CPSC (but only through counsel) if you plan on conducting a recall for a host of related legal reasons. It will be interesting to watch this suit play out. No doubt the CPSC felt emboldened by a number of recent court decisions like this one in California holding Amazon legally responsible for the distribution of allegedly defective products.

Law Offices of Steven W. Hansen | www.swhlaw.com | 562 866 6228 © Copyright 1996-2020 Conditions of Use

August 23, 2020

California Court rules that Amazon does have liability for a defective product (Bolger v Amazon.com LLC)

This article was reprinted with permission from Bicycle Retailer and Industry News  

By Steven W. Hansen, Esq. 

Update 11/19/20: The California Supreme Court on 11/18/20 denied Amazon.com LLC’s bid for judicial review of this case decided earlier this fall. So that mean this case is now a legally cite-able precedent and is "the law" in Calif.

An appeals court in California ruled Thursday that Amazon is not shielded from liability for defective products sold by third-party sellers through its online marketplace.

Nationally this California Appellate case is one of the first decided against Amazon holding them directly liable for a defective product sold on its marketplace. It remains to be seen what happens on somewhat similar cases pending in state and federal courts throughout the country. On a related issue, the California Legislature is considering a bill (AB-3262 Product liability: electronic retail marketplaces) that would treat “electronic retail marketplaces” like retailers for purposes of California strict liability law. The future of this bill is uncertain and most if not all of California law regarding product liability is case law not statutory law.

The plaintiff in the California case, Angela Bolger, bought a replacement laptop computer battery on Amazon.com in 2016.

The listing for the battery on Amazon identified the “seller” (“sold by”) as “E-Life,” a fictitious name used on Amazon by Lenoge Technology (HK) Ltd. (Lenoge). Amazon charged Bolger for the purchase, retrieved the laptop battery from its location in an Amazon warehouse, (as this was an “FBA” sale or “fulfillment by Amazon”) prepared the battery for shipment in Amazon-branded packaging, and sent it to Bolger. Bolger alleged the battery exploded several months later, and she suffered severe burns as a result.

Interestingly a month after the purchase Amazon suspended Lenoge’s selling privileges because it became aware of a “grouping” of safety reports on Lenoge’s laptop batteries and Lenoge did not respond to Amazon’s requests for documentation. Three weeks later, Amazon permanently blocked Lenoge’s account.  Bolger sued Amazon in January 2017 and several other defendants, including Lenoge, alleging causes of action for strict products liability, negligent products liability, breach of implied warranty, breach of express warranty, and “negligence/negligent undertaking.” Lenoge was served but did not appear, so the trial court entered its default. Other entities were sued as well but foreign service of process was going to take 2-3 years. Three months after suit was filed, Amazon sent Bolger an email warning her that Amazon had learned that the Lenoge replacement battery “may present a fire hazard or not perform as expected…If you still have this product, we strongly recommend that you stop using the item immediately.”

What is most interesting to us is that there is no record of any CPSC recall regarding this battery or related companies which would be required before any notification were sent to a consumer regarding a safety issue; unless of course Amazon did not consider itself a seller or in the retail chain. Ironically there is still an Amazon seller named “Lenoge” selling laptop batteries on the site as of this writing.

After almost two years of litigation, Amazon moved for summary judgment, arguing primarily that the doctrine of strict products liability, as well as any similar tort theory, did not apply to it because Amazon did not design or manufacture the product, sell or distribute the battery, set the price, provide a warranty, or control the terms of the product offer. Similarly, Amazon argued it was not involved in sourcing the subject battery from the manufacturer or upstream distributor.” Amazon also submitted a declaration from an Amazon senior manager responsible for product safety, investigations, and recalls who asserted that “E-life retained title to the battery at all times,” and “E-life was also responsible for ensuring the battery that it sold to [Bolger] was properly packaged and complied with all applicable laws.” The Amazon manager acknowledged Amazon’s A-to-z Guarantee, but she denied it was a warranty. She stated, “The only warranty provided for a product comes from the third-party seller.”

The trial court judge agreed with all of Amazon’s factual and legal arguments (even though there were likely disputed facts that could have prevented the motion from being granted), and granted Amazon’s motion, and entered judgment accordingly. 

The three-judge panel at the Court of Appeal, strongly disagreed in a very well reasoned decision. We strongly urge readers to take a look at the opinion starting at page 18 as it pretty much lays out the entire basis of product liability in California and how Amazon’s attempt to shield itself from liability was really a smokescreen for its true role in the chain of distribution.

Initially the court pointed out that “Essentially the paramount policy to be promoted by the [product liability doctrine] is the protection of otherwise defenseless victims of manufacturing defects and the spreading throughout society of the cost of compensating them.” But “the facts must establish a sufficient causative relationship or connection between the defendant and the product so as to satisfy the policies underlying the strict liability doctrine.” The court looked at older decisions where product “facilitators” had benefited from service charges in providing the product and finding liability as the “overall producing and marketing enterprise is in a better position to insure against the liability and to distribute it to the public by adding the cost thereof to the price of the product.” 

One of the key factors (although perhaps not the deciding factor) in this case was that the Lenoge supplier was participating in the FBA program with Amazon. The court painstakingly went thru the process of how the battery got from Lenoge to Amazon and from Amazon to the consumer and that Amazon was an “integral part of the overall producing and marketing enterprise that should bear the cost of injuries resulting from defective products.”. The court painstakingly went thru all of the policies underlying the doctrine of strict products liability to confirm that the doctrine should apply.

First, Amazon, like conventional retailers, may be the only member of the distribution chain reasonably available to an injured plaintiff who purchases a product on its website. 

Second, Amazon, again like conventional retailers, “may play a substantial part in insuring that the product is safe or may be in a position to exert pressure on the manufacturer to that end; the retailer’s strict liability thus serves as an added incentive to safety.”

Third, Amazon, like conventional retailers, has the capacity to adjust the cost of compensating injured plaintiffs between itself and the third-party sellers in the course of their ongoing relationship.

Amazon focused on dictionary definitions of “seller” and “distributor” and claimed it could not be held strictly liable because those definitions do not apply to it. It characterized its business as a service, i.e., a forum for others to sell their products, and therefore outside the rule of strict liability. The court felt Amazon’s arguments were unpersuasive.

First, regardless of whether Amazon selected this particular battery for sale, it chose to host Lenoge’s product listing, accept Lenoge into the FBA program, take possession of the battery, accept Bolger’s order, take her payment, and ship the battery to her. Amazon was therefore part of the chain of distribution even if it did not consciously select the Lenoge replacement battery for sale. Second, and more fundamentally, Amazon did choose to offer the Lenoge replacement battery for sale. Amazon was no mere bystander to the vast digital and physical apparatus it designed and controlled. The court reasoned Amazon made these choices for its own commercial purposes and so it should share in the consequences.

Many of the arguments Amazon asserted were contradictory. For example, Amazon argued that it did not set the price for third-party products and therefore cannot “spread the cost of defects across units sold.” But as Amazon noted, it does control its fees. If it desires, it can increase fees on high-risk products, or all products, and thereby spread the cost of compensating consumers injured by such products.  Of course, this is the problem in general with low-cost products. Costs must be cut somewhere and one of the ways to do that is by avoiding product liability and insurance costs. This is typically the case with overseas companies beyond the reach of US courts. But of course, the argument here is that Amazon does in fact have control over these overseas companies and can force them to insure Amazon.

Amazon also contended (as all internet companies do) that, regardless of its liability under California law, it is shielded by the federal Communications Decency Act (1996). The court ruled against Amazon on this issue as well as under existing case law, “while the [CDA] protects interactive computer service providers from liability as a publisher of speech, it does not protect them from liability as the seller of a defective product.” Here the liability was based on Amazon’s own conduct, as described above, not the content of Lenoge’s product listing. The court also distinguished eBay cases where eBay was not found responsible for users' false product listings.

It is important to point out that this appellate decision will almost surely be appealed by Amazon to the California Supreme court and that it could take well over a year for a final decision from that court. Once that decision comes down from the CA Supreme court (Its unclear if the US Supreme court would agree to hear this case) the case may still be sent back to the trial court for trial and appealed again from a verdict. Or the case may settle and this opinion and/or any Supreme Court opinion would stand as the law. Amazon may seek to “de-publish” the opinion so it could not be relied on as precedent. That outcome is unlikely in this case. 

The issue of Amazon’s strict liability for third-party sales has been, and continues to be, litigated in state and federal courts across the country. Some hold Amazon strictly liable while others do not.  Many of the other cases are factually distinguishable, including because the product at issue was NOT sold through Amazon’s FBA program (as in the Bolger case). Also other state statutes or case law have limited strict liability in a manner inconsistent with California law.   

So now what are the implications of the Bolger case? Well knowing Amazon and how it likes to assert its leverage over sellers, it will likely immediately start requiring very large insurance policies naming it as additional insured for all third party sellers (but especially those who use FBA) As California is such a huge market for Amazon and Amazon cannot be sure where a third party seller product may be shipped, any decision in any state holding Amazon responsible will make it such that Amazon will have to enforce the insurance requirements system-wide. Also as most plaintiffs do not pursue entities in other countries that require complex foreign service and jurisdictional issues to be overcome, it will be interesting to see how this decision forces Amazon to force the small sellers to pony up when it comes to the defense and indemnification of Amazon. The overall effect will likely be increased prices on the Amazon third party platform (even more so that post-COVIID-19) which may hurt it in its fight with Walmart.

This decision was a long time in coming but I had to say the writing was on the wall. The decision is a great read for those that want to learn about how Amazon deals with sellers. Amazon wants a big piece of the sales pie. It wanted to have total control over sellers and buyers while keeping the two isolated from each other. But when it came to liability its position was “oh we don’t sell anything and have nothing to do with the marketing of the product”. Well that facade has now been severely eroded. The emperor's lack of clothes has now been pointed out in a court decision that will be heard around the world.

Law Offices of Steven W. Hansen | www.swhlaw.com | 562 866 6228 © Copyright 1996-2020 Conditions of Use

August 12, 2020

California Bill alert; AB-1286 Shared mobility devices: agreements (2019-2020) (AB 371 2022)

UPDATE 6/21/22. This bill was renumbered to AB 371 and CAL Bike does not like the insurance requirements. Quite a few provisions have been added since 2020 version below. Here is the calbike campaign and the link to the current version of the bill. Act now in contacting your CA legislator as votes can happen very quickly without warning.

UPDATE 9/2/20. So the legislative year is over in CA as of 8/31/20...whew...The final bill language is set forth below as of 9/2/20. They still did not clean up the issue below in my 8/27/20 update. If the bill is signed by Gov. Newsom it looks like it would take effect January 1, 2021.

UPDATE 8/27/20:

It appears that the mobility industry and or others in the industry were able to remove all the provisions in the bill relating to releases. However in my opinion the definition of a  “Shared mobility device” and a  “Shared mobility device provider” is still too vague which then leads to a problem with this remaining provision "(b) Before distribution of a shared mobility device, a shared mobility service provider shall enter into an agreement with, or obtain a permit from, the city or county with jurisdiction over the area of use. "Distribution" is way too vague and again this could apply to very small rental operations that cannot afford such high insurance limits.

ORIGINAL 8/12/20 POST:

Once again someone in the California legislature got whiff of a bad idea and decided to run with it. Just like the AB 5 bill last year regarding independent contractors and the resulting unwinding of Uber in CA., now we have a "shared mobility bill" that attempts to "fix" a few issues in that sector but does it in a very heavy handed way. 

The first problem is the definition of a "shared mobility device". (ellipses eliminates unneeded verbiage) "Shared mobility device” means an electrically motorized board.... motorized scooter ... electric bicycle... [human powered] bicycle..., or other similar personal transportation device, .... that is made available to the public..". It gets worse.

“Shared mobility service provider”... means a person or entity that offers, makes available, or provides a shared mobility device in exchange for financial compensation..."

So if one person wanted to rent a bike to someone, this law applies to that person renting a bike. Rather overbroad and too all inclusive. Poorly drafted in my opinion. There should be some revenue size threshold added to this definition.

Now for the good part, if you rent one of these devices (regardless of the size of your business or the amount of revenue to you earn) you have to purchase a policy from a California admitted insurer (might be tough from what I know of this insurance market) and the limits have to be 1 million per claim and 5 million dollars in the aggregate. In some respects that is more than Walmart suppliers have to procure to sell to Walmart.

But there is more. The "agreement between the provider and a user shall not contain a provision by which the user waives, releases, or in any way limits their legal rights or remedies under the agreement.". So even though California statutory law and case law allows for such waivers and releases in the recreational sports context, this legislator knows better and is going to go against established law. Such releases are not allowed in a product liability case to begin with. All this does is expose the companies renting (not product manufacturers or distributors) to MORE liability and make it harder for them to extricate themselves from litigation. Also the insurance market has "priced in" those waivers and without them insurance costs will likely rise in this sector. Legislators should think very long and hard before tinkering with existing liability laws and precedent. The law of unintended consequences makes things hard to fix once a new law is unleashed.

It goes on to provide that "A city or county that authorized a provider to operate within its jurisdiction before January 1, 2020, and continues to provide that authorization shall adopt rules for the operation, parking, maintenance, and safety rules regarding the use and maintenance of shared mobility devices..."

Quite frankly I trust the mobility companies to come up with better rules for operation than any government entity. Trust me I have seen this play out before. Government entities are not very adept at this especially considering the hundreds of different devices out there.

It is worth noting that this bill is co-sponsored by the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) (which is a large association of attorneys that represents plaintiff's) and the League of California Cities (which is a group that generally advocates for cities) It is supported by the Environmental Defense Fund and a number of consumer protection groups. It is opposed by a number of shared mobility service providers, TechNet, and the Civil Justice Association of California.

The senate Judiciary Committee Analysis is as follows (in part)

Required prohibition on waiver of rights and remedies

Pursuant to the bill, the agreement and permit must also prohibit provisions in shared mobility provider agreements between providers and users by which the user waives, releases, or in any way limits their legal rights or remedies under the agreement. Writing in opposition, were a coalition of groups, including a number of providers such as Bird and Lime.

What is interesting is that the committee responded to their opposition with:

"It is true that such waivers are generally permitted and widely used, but are subject to certain limitations and requirements laid out in statute and case law. Civil Code Section 1668 provides:All contracts which have for their object, directly or indirectly, to exempt anyone from responsibility for his own fraud, or willful injury to the person or property of another, or violation of law, whether willful or negligent, are against the policy of the law.Relevant judicial precedent further requires that waivers must be clear, unambiguous, and explicit in expressing the intent of the subscribing parties, as well as comprehensible in each of its essential details. (Benedek v. PLC Santa Monica(2002) 104 Cal.App.4th 1351, 1356; Westlye v. Look Sports, Inc.(1993) 17 Cal.App.4th 1715, 1731."

So even after acknowledging years of case law out there to protect consumer from onerous releases or waivers the Legislature still felt it was appropriate and ban outright the use of waivers and in a very broad fashion (not just for electric devices) or limiting the ban to large providers.

The plaintiff attorneys association responded (some what inaccurately) that:

"The opposition argues that such agreements are common. However, (1) [releases] being common does not make them right and (2) they are different from other rental agreements/operators. The companies manufacture (Editor: that is not true in all circumstances) and place e-scooters into the stream of commerce and are more akin to a product manufacturer and/or retailer and less like an innocent rental agency with no control over the product. Also, the manufacturers have the exclusive control to fix/maintain the scooters. (Editor: this is is also not always accurate) When a driver rents a vehicle, he or she is not required to waive the liability of car defects; neither should a scooter rider."

The Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) responded that "The scooter manufacturer has no way of exerting control over the scooter rider and does not deserve full legal responsibility for accidents that may occur as a result of a rider’s behavior." The Legislative analyst responded that "assumption of risk" can still be asserted but I would point out if the defendant is in fact a product manufacturer or in the stream of distribution "assumption of risk" is not available as a defense in a pure product liability case.

If you want to see the full bill analysis click here. It is worth a read.

The entire bill as it exists today is set forth below. This bill was last amended in June of 2019 and it is just now coming up for a hearing with the CA Senate Judiciary Committee on August 18, 2020. Don't ask why. It passed out of committee on 8/19/20 and is now set for a 'third reading". This is part of the problem with the CA legislature. Surprise hearings on dormant bills months down the road. Maybe that's planned. August 31 is the last day to pass the bill.

The committee can be reached at:
State Capitol
Room 2187
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4113
Fax: (916) 403-7394
Email: sjud.fax@sen.ca.gov

The bill author can be reached here.

FINAL LANGUAGE OF BILL AWAITING SIGNATURE BY GOV. NEWSOM LIKELY WITHIN 30 DAYS:

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Title 10.1 (commencing with Section 2505) is added to Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, to read:

TITLE 10.1. Shared Mobility Devices

2505.
 (a) For purposes of this title:
(1) “Shared mobility device” means an electrically motorized board as defined in Section 313.5 of the Vehicle Code, motorized scooter as defined in Section 407.5 of the Vehicle Code, electric bicycle as defined in Section 312.5 of the Vehicle Code, bicycle as defined in Section 231 of the Vehicle Code, or other similar personal transportation device, except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 415 of the Vehicle Code, that is made available to the public by a shared mobility service provider for shared use and transportation in exchange for financial compensation via a digital application or other electronic or digital platform.
(2) “Shared mobility service provider” or “provider” means a person or entity that offers, makes available, or provides a shared mobility device in exchange for financial compensation or membership via a digital application or other electronic or digital platform.
(b) Before distribution of a shared mobility device, a shared mobility service provider shall enter into an agreement with, or obtain a permit from, the city or county with jurisdiction over the area of use. The agreement or permit shall, at a minimum, require that the shared mobility service provider maintain commercial general liability insurance coverage with a carrier doing business in California, with limits not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) for each occurrence for bodily injury or property damage, including contractual liability, personal injury, and product liability and completed operations, and not less than five million dollars ($5,000,000) aggregate for all occurrences during the policy period. The insurance shall not exclude coverage for injuries or damages caused by the shared mobility service provider to the shared mobility device user.
(c) (1) A city or county that authorizes a provider to operate within its jurisdiction on or after January 1, 2021, shall adopt rules for the operation, parking, and maintenance of shared mobility devices before a provider may offer any shared mobility device for rent or use in the city or county by any of the following:
(A) Ordinance.
(B) Agreement.
(C) Permit terms.
(2) A city or county that authorized a provider to operate within its jurisdiction before January 1, 2021, and continues to provide that authorization shall adopt rules for the operation, parking, and maintenance of shared mobility devices by January 1, 2022, by any of the following:
(A) Ordinance.
(B) Agreement.
(C) Permit terms.
(3) A provider shall comply with all applicable rules, agreements, and permit terms established pursuant to this subdivision.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a city or county from adopting any ordinance or regulation that is not inconsistent with this title.

SEC. 2.

 The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

 

OLDER VERSION OF THE BILL BELOW:

Introduced by Assembly Member Muratsuchi

February 21, 2019


An act to add Title 10.1 (commencing with Section 2505) to Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, relating to mobility devices.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1286, as amended, Muratsuchi. Shared mobility devices: agreements.
Existing law regulates contracts for particular transactions, including those in which one person agrees to give to another person the temporary possession and use of personal property, other than money for reward, and the latter agrees to return the property to the former at a future time.
This bill would require a shared mobility service provider, as defined, to enter into an agreement with, or obtain a permit from, the city or county with jurisdiction over the area of use. The bill would require that the provider maintain a specified amount of commercial general liability insurance and would prohibit the provider from including specified provisions in a user agreement before distributing a shared mobility device within that jurisdiction. The bill would define shared mobility device to mean an electrically motorized board, motorized scooter, electric bicycle, bicycle, or other similar personal transportation device, except as provided.
This bill would require a city or county that authorizes a shared mobility device provider to operate within its jurisdiction on or after January 1, 2020, to adopt operation, parking, maintenance, and safety rules and maintenance rules, as provided, regarding the use of the shared mobility devices in its jurisdiction before the provider may offer shared mobility devices for rent or use. The bill would require a city or county that authorized a provider to operate within its jurisdiction before January 1, 2020, and continues to provide that authorization to adopt those operation, parking, maintenance, and safety rules and maintenance rules, as provided, by January 1, 2021.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Title 10.1 (commencing with Section 2505) is added to Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, to read:

TITLE 10.1. Shared Mobility Devices

2505.
 (a) For purposes of this title:
(1) “Shared mobility device” means an electrically motorized board as defined in Section 313.5 of the Vehicle Code, motorized scooter as defined in Section 407.5 of the Vehicle Code, electric bicycle as defined in Section 312.5 of the Vehicle Code, bicycle as defined in Section 231 of the Vehicle Code, or other similar personal transportation device, except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 415 of the Vehicle Code, that is made available to the public by a shared mobility service provider for shared use and transportation in exchange for financial compensation via a digital application or other electronic or digital platform.
(2) “Shared mobility service provider” or “provider” means a person or entity that offers, makes available, or provides a shared mobility device in exchange for financial compensation or membership via a digital application or other electronic or digital platform.
(b) Before distribution of a shared mobility device, a shared mobility service provider shall enter into an agreement with, or obtain a permit from, the city or county with jurisdiction over the area of use. The agreement or permit shall, at a minimum, require that the provider comply with both of the following requirements:
(1) Requires Require that the shared mobility service provider to maintain commercial general liability insurance coverage with a carrier doing business in California, with limits not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) for each occurrence for bodily injury or property damage, including contractual liability, personal injury, and product liability and completed operations, and not less than five million dollars ($5,000,000) aggregate for all occurrences during the policy period. The insurance shall not exclude coverage for injuries or damages caused by the shared mobility service provider to the shared mobility device user.
(2) The shared mobility provider agreement between the provider and a user shall not contain a provision by which the user waives, releases, or in any way limits their legal rights or remedies under the agreement.
(c) (1) A city or county that authorizes a provider to operate within its jurisdiction on or after January 1, 2020, shall adopt rules for the operation, parking, maintenance, and safety rules regarding the use and maintenance of shared mobility devices before a provider may offer any shared mobility device for rent or use in the city or county. county by any of the following:
(A) Ordinance.
(B) Agreement.
(C) Permit terms.
(2) A city or county that authorized a provider to operate within its jurisdiction before January 1, 2020, and continues to provide that authorization shall adopt rules for the operation, parking, maintenance, and safety rules regarding the use and maintenance of shared mobility devices by January 1, 2021. 2021, by any of the following:
(A) Ordinance.
(B) Agreement.
(C) Permit terms.
(3) A provider shall comply with all operation, parking, maintenance, and safety rules applicable rules, agreements, and permit terms established pursuant to this subdivision.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a city or county from adopting any ordinance or regulation that is not inconsistent with this title.

SEC. 2.

 The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
 

Law Offices of Steven W. Hansen | www.swhlaw.com | 562 866 6228 © Copyright 1996-2020 Conditions of Use