The American Restatement of Torts, Second is an influential treatise issued by the American Law Institute

American Law Institute

The American Law Institute was established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of American common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. The ALI drafts, approves, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, model codes, and other proposals for law...

. It summarizes the general principles of common law United States tort law

United States tort law

This article addresses torts in United States law. As such, it covers primarily common law. Moreover, it provides general rules, as individual states all have separate civil codes...

. The volumes covering torts are part of the Second Restatements of the Law series.

Section 402A of this Restatement, discussing strict liability

Strict liability

In law, strict liability is a standard for liability which may exist in either a criminal or civil context. A rule specifying strict liability makes a person legally responsible for the damage and loss caused by his or her acts and omissions regardless of culpability...

 for defective products

Product liability

Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause...

, is by far the most widely cited section of any Restatement. It gave birth to such an enormous body of case law that an entirely new Restatement of Torts, Third: Products Liability was published in 1997 to supersede Section 402A and related sections.