Arguing Class Actions is a monthly column for the National Law Journal.

In product defect class actions filed in federal court, plaintiffs often allege that the presence of a defect reduces a product’s value and causes economic injury.  In response, defendants and some courts have taken the position that a product defect must be “manifest” (that the product not only be defective, but also fail in some severe way) for there to be concrete injury sufficient for Article III standing.