In this case Justice Posner used the strict liability rule when finding
the defendant liable. Strict liability rule states that a seller,
distributor, or manufacturer of a defective product is held
responsible for a person’s injuries. Based on the theory of strict
liability, the manufacturer would be responsible for the injury to the
consumer. Justice Posner used the evidence provided to reverse the
lower courts decision. Judge Posner referenced res ipsa loquitur to
help determine that the defendant was responsible for the incident.
The doctrine states that an accident that is unlikely to occur, unless
the defendant was negligent. Judge Posner also reviewed how the
incident happen and compared the incident to normal circumstances.
Most peanut jars do not break with normal pressure applied while
applying the lid. Based on the evidence provided by the plaintiff, no
out of “normal” circumstances or actions occurred to the jar that
would have caused the jar to prematurely break. I do not agree with
the Judges decision based on the information provided in the case.
For the plaintiff to win in a strict liability case they must prove the
product they purchased was in poor condition and they were unable
to prove that in the beginning as they opened the jar three times
before the incident occurred. Many things could have happened
during the two weeks while it sat on top of the fridge. Secondly, the
store that sold the product to the consumer would have knowingly
sold a defective product. Based on the evidence that the jar went
through the normal scanning and bagging process, this would lead
me to believe K-Mart did not know the product was defective. I
believe there are too many unknowns from the plaintiffs handling of
the jar to reverse the decision.
One of the most famous Strict Liability Cases is Sheila Liebeck
getting burnt by coffee served from a McDonalds restaurant. The
plaintiff won this case because McDonalds admitted that it had
identified the burn risk previously but failed to address the issue. The
fact McDonalds knew there was a risk and did not address makes
them liable.
References:
Kubasek, N. K., Browne, M. N., Herron, D. J., Dhooge, L. J., &
Barkacs, L. L. (2019). Dynamic Business Law. McGraw Hill .
Corporation, B. (2022). What is Strict Product Liability?. Retrieved 10
March 2022,
from https://www.losangelesproductliabilityfirm.com/blog/2016/ma
y/what-is-strict-product-liability-/#:~:text=In%20product%20liability
%20claims%2C%20the,the%20product%27s%20defect%20never
%20happened
.
8 of the World’s Most Famous Product Liability Cases. (2022).
Retrieved 10 March 2022, from
https://www.dsclaw.co.za/articles/8-of-the-worlds-most-famous-
product-liability-cases/
