What theory of liability did Judge Posner use in finding the defendant liable?
The theory that Judge Posner used to find the defendant liable was the doctrine of “res ipsa
loqutiur” “teaches that an accident that is unlikely to occur unless the defendant was
negligent, is itself circumstantial evidence that the defendant was negligent” (Kubasek et
al, 2019) there was no reasonable way that Godfrey could have intentionally damaged the
peanuts. The judge also used strict liability to determine that the defendant was liable in
this specific case.)
What were the judge’s reasons for reversing the decisions made in the lower court?
The judge chose to reverse the decisions of the lower court as Godfrey walked through
everything, she did to obtain the peanut jar all the way from purchasing it to when she
placed it on the refrigerator at home. She also indicated throughout this process it was not
reasonable that it could have been damaged during this point, which means it was damaged
in the manufacturing process.
Do you agree with the decision made? Why or why not?
I do agree with the decision to reverse the decisions made in the lower court. I do not
believe that Godfrey damaged the jar within the two times she used this, I also do not think
it’s reasonable to assume it was damaged from sitting on top of a fridge. I think that the
product was damaged before she purchased it and unfortunately the third time, she went to
open it was when that was proven. If I was the Judge, I would have made the same
decision.)
The other product liability case I read about was Liebeck vs. McDonald's Corp. This is a
case I have heard about many times and was interesting to read in more specifics. I thought
this uncovered that there were many complaints about the temperature of the Coffee, and I
think it was insulting for Mcdonald's to offer the amount they did initially $800. I am glad
it was able to get settled and I would be curious to know if they have new guidelines on
the temperature of their coffees.)
References
) )Kubasek, N. K., M Neil Browne, Dhooge, L. J., Herron, D. J., & Barkacs, L. L.
(2019).)Dynamic business law. Mcgraw-Hill Education.)
