Judge Posner used the strict-liability theory. The jar was determined
to be defective without question. a The reversal addressed the
plaintiff’s initial failure to exclude causes other than manufacturer
defect. This decision hinged largely on the jury’s belief in the
testimony of the roommates. Judge Posner deducted a high
probability of the defect being introduced by the defendants, based
on the roommates testimony/account of the journey of the jar after
its purchase. It's hard to believe that someone would hurt themselves
like that intentionally, however there are con artists who sieze these
opportunities. Ultimately, I agree with reasoning from deduction,
much like Judge Posner. I consider all the possibilities of when a
defect could have been introduced, like:
• imbalance in ingredients in manufacturing
• incorrect temperature in manufacturing
• handling of the jar from the manufacturer to a truck, storage
warehouse, another truck, the Planters facility, the
person/machine filling it with peanuts, another truck, a Kmart
warehouse, another truck, a Kmart store, and finally to a
stockperson shelving it.
When looking at the minimal exposure to defect of the jar after
purchase, the witness testimony, and the likelihood that someone
wouldn’t cripple themselves intentionally, it’s fair to deduct the
defect occurred under the defendant’s care.
Another interesting products liability case was against Dow Corning,
who were aware of risks and production problems with their silicone
breast implants that affected 170,000 women (via rupture, leak,
illness), resulting in 20,000 lawsuits, and a $3.2 billion dollar payout
(Negretti, 2021). It's disturbing to think that people wouldn’t feel a
moral obligation to disclose a manufacturing defect for something
that goes into your body. a Makes you think twice about these
vaccinations going into our bodies that are being created and
produced in a quick fashion…hmmm.
Reference
Negretti Law. (2021). a Five Famous Product Liability Cases.
https://negrettilaw.com/news/famous-product-liability-
