On April 3, 2008, the California Supreme Court in Johnson v. American Standard, Inc., 2008 WL 878933; Cal. SlipNo. S139184, ruled that the “sophisticated user defense” exempts a manufacturer from its obligation to warn a consumer of a product’s danger when the consumer knew (or should have known) of the product’s inherent hazards. The decision applies to both strict liability and negligence failure to warn cases. The opinion will undoubtedly have a strong and decisive impact for many toxic tort defendants in California and perhaps around the country. It will also end toxic tort plaintiffs’ ability to successfully claim that the manufacturer simply failed to warn them of a product’s danger or risk when the plaintiff knew (or should have known) of those very same dangers he or she is suing over. The decision may also convince other states which either have not adopted the sophisticated user defense or have a limited version of it to see the logic in the Court’s reasoning and adopt its holding. Only time will tell how much of an impact this decision will have, but the future looks much brighter for toxic tort defendants!