Civil actions: damages.

Existing law authorizes the plaintiff, in an action for the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, where it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice, to recover damages for the sake of example and by way of punishing the defendant in addition to the actual damages. This bill would provide, in a case involving injury or harm allegedly caused by a product, that the manufacturer, distributor, or seller of the product shall not be guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice if, at the time of manufacture, distribution, or sale, the product, or the aspect, component, warning, or absence of warning contained in or accompanying the product that allegedly caused the injury or harm, was either approved by, or in material compliance with, a statute or the standards, rules, regulations, requirements, or specifications of, a federal or state agency responsible for regulating, evaluating, or approving the product, except as specified.