Causation Conundrums: Implications of Georgia Supreme Court’s Interpretation of Statute of Repose in Long-Term Product Use Cases

When does the statute of repose clock start ticking on a product liability claim involving long-term repeat use of many individually purchased units of a product? According to the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision in Burroughs v. Strength of Nature Global, LLC, __ S.E.2d __, 2025 WL 2918923 (Ga. Oct. 15, 2025), the short answer is that the statute of repose starts anew for each individual unit. But, as Burroughs itself illustrates, that answer creates serious problems that may require the state’s legislature to intervene.