Escola V. Case Brief Essay

615 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Arguments For And Against Strict Liability

Facts
• Plaintiff (Escola) was working as a waitress in a restaurant when the Defendant's delivery driver delivered several cases of Coca Cola to the restaurant. While unloading the bottles, one exploded in the Plaintiff's hand causing injury.
Procedure History
• The case was initially ruled in favor of the plaintiff following the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (negligence), “a doctrine or rule of evidence in tort law that permits an inference or presumption that a defendant was negligent in an accident injuring the plaintiff on the basis of circumstantial evidence if the accident was of a kind that does not ordinarily occur in the absence of negligence” (Merriam-Webster).
Even after the majority opinion and Chief Judge, Phil Gibson, affirmed …show more content…

Rule
• Doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (negligence): a plaintiff who establishes the elements of res ipsa loquitur can withstand a motion for summary judgement and reach the jury without direct proof of negligence – Cox v May Dept. Store Co., 903 P.2d 1119 (1995) (“Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law”)
• Strict Liability: an individual would be held responsible for their actions or products that caused the damages regardless of any negligence or fault on their part. A plaintiff filing a personal injury lawsuit under a strict liability law does not need to show intentional or negligent conduct, only that the defendant's action triggered strict liability and that the plaintiff suffered a harm. (“What is Strict Liability?”)

Application
• The case concluded that manufactures have a responsibility to not let defective products on market, and that there was an act of negligence by Coca Cola because of the defective bottle. Therefore, Coca Cola was found to be legally responsible for damage and loss without proving fault, or negligence. This resulted in strict liability being placed on the manufacturer. The case set precedent for future cases involving product liability. As a result of this finding, companies that distribute products to the public are responsible for any harm caused by their

Show More
Related

  • Mamo V Surace Case Summary

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    The refinement of this definition has significant legal implications, as it broadens the scope of those who can sue within blameless accidents. Prior to this, such victims would also face being labelled with “fault”. Supporting the findings of Axiak, by establishing non-tortious conduct as separate from “fault”, similar, future cases are more likely to proceed despite the plaintiff’s contributory

    Read More

  • Case Study: Race V. Krum

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    This trend began to ebb with MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co., and the ruling by an appellate court that favored MacPherson, the plaintiff. This case, however, was more a result of political expediency than a reasoned verdict based on fact. In this case, the plaintiff argued that his 1911 Baby Buick had a defective wheel that collapsed while traveling at a low rate of speed, hitting a telephone pole, and pinning him under, breaking his wrist and cracking several ribs; however, the facts of the trial revealed that the accident as it was recounted by the plaintiff was a physical impossibility, but due to the increasing pressures to dispense with privity rulings, the court imposed on the defendant the responsibility of inspecting and discarding defective wheels, implying causal negligence even though the plaintiff had driven the vehicle for more than a year in less than perfect road conditions without a mishap. (MacPherson Tort Story; MacPherson v. Buick Motor Company: Simplifying the Facts While Reshaping the Law, Pg.

    Read More

  • Case Study Of Sandra Primrose V. WAL-MART Stores

    229 Words  | 1 Pages

    Facts: On September 8, 2009, while 73 year old plaintiff Sandra Primrose was shopping in a Wal-Mart, tripped over a watermelon display and fell, causing her to sustain a concussion and other serious injuries. After grabbing a watermelon from the display Ms. Primrose tripped over one of the corners while returning back to her shopping cart. On the same day after her incident Ms. Primrose filed a suit for damages against Wal-Mart claiming that it was the store owner’s negligence that led to her accident. On October 15, Wal-Mart filed a motion for summary judgment which was granted under La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 9:2800.6 stating that there was a very small chance

    Read More

  • Hipster Airlines Case Summary

    1378 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mitchell v. Gonzales, 54 Cal. 3d 1041, 1 Cal. Rptr. 2d 913, 819 P.2d 872 (1991). According to the plaintiff explosion of the engine only caused smoke inside of the cabin, she sustained injuries when the flight attendant pushed her. Compl. ¶ 9. Therefore the explosion of the engine cannot be the substantial cause of her injuries. Moreover, Plaintiff stated that she sustained serious injuries to her right ankle and shin Compl. ¶ 15 however she failed to narrow down the broad meaning of serious injuries to explain how her ankle was injured. This statement makes it difficult to understand the extent of her medical

    Read More

  • Case Study: Susan Is Shopping In A Supermarket

    1666 Words  | 4 Pages

    On the 1st of October in the year 2017, the defendant, in this case, the supermarket was found liable for the case Susan injury in the supermarket's premises. The hip injury on Susan’s hip which was a result of the slipping over a squashed banana. The presence of the squashed banana in the premises was an outright sign of negligence and recklessness by the supermarket's staff. (Damage law)

    Read More

  • Factors Associate with an Ikea Product Recall

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Consumer Product Safety Committee was mandated with the responsibility of safeguarding the public from unreasonable risks of harm or death linked with the use of various types of products under the agency’s jurisdiction. In case of violation of a mandatory regulation, the agency usually issues a Letter of Advice regarding the infringement and the nature of appropriate corrective action. The violation is also accompanied by a product recall by the respective company and liability for negligence for any injury or death from using the product. Some of the major aspects under consideration during a product recall include duty of care, actual causation, standard of care, proximate causation, breach of the duty of care, actual injury, and defenses to negligence.

    Read More

  • Negligent Discipline

    631 Words  | 2 Pages

    Liability for negligence is a civil matter. In liability negligence, the victim has to be able to prove that the defendant has legal obligations, and the obligations was breached, and that they have received foreseeable harm as a consequence of the negligence alleged. If the victim can prove that there was a breach of a legal obligation then he/she will be awarded damages based on the basis of the harm caused or loss sustained.

    Read More

  • The Tort Of Negligence: Diamonds Baseball Club

    635 Words  | 2 Pages

    The tort of negligence. Defined as “where a person fails to take reasonable care, and as a result, injures another person” (Grey et al, 1998, pg 241). For an accusation of negligence to be successful, the plaintiff must be able to present the three elements of negligence. He must prove that the defendant owes him a duty of care, that the duty in question was breached, and that he suffered damages due to this.

    Read More

  • Hot Coffee Case Summary

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    The case Hot Coffee is an interesting case that took place in a sensitive point in recent judicial tort reform. It was a product liability lawsuit which took place in 1994, a New Mexico jury awarded $2.86 million to the plaintiff Stella Liebeck. She was a 79-year-old woman who had suffered third-degree burns in her pelvic region when she accidentally spilled hot coffee in her lap after purchasing it from a McDonald's restaurant. Liebeck was hospitalized for eight days while she underwent skin grafting, followed by two years of medical treatment. The jury issued a list of damages which included $160,000 to cover medical expenses and compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages.

    Read More

  • Cocola V. Coca Cola Bottling Summary

    484 Words  | 1 Pages

    The driver who delivered the bottles had admitted that he saw many bottles explode in the past. Legal issue:  Is the defendant totally liable for its failure to examine a bottle of Coca-Cola that has a defect that caused injury to Plaintiff? Does the doctrine of res ispa loquitur apply as an implication of negligence from the defendant for the defective bottle that was delivered?

    Read More

  • Responsibility in The Legal Environment of Business

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cross, Frank B., and Roger LeRoy Miller. "Ch. 13: Strict Liability and Product Liability." The legal environment of business: text and cases, 8th edition. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning Custom Solutions, 2012. 294-297. Print.

    Read More

  • County Escola Vs Coca Cola Bottling Company Case

    527 Words  | 2 Pages

    As we go about our daily lives we interact with a variety of products and services, many of which are key parts into how we live. We trust the policies, procedures and laws that are in place within society to protect us is the event we are to incur harm. The issue of product liability has become increasingly prominent in the news and has left many individuals wondering how safe the products we use daily are. The issue of tort and product liability was no more aware than the case of Gladys Escola, Respondent, v. Coca Cola Bottling Company of Fresno. It highlighted how issues that are interpreted as isolated could become a bigger problems and lead to large litigation cases.

    Read More

  • Product Liability In Sports

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    Notably, the class of potential defendants in a product liability is extensive; it may include everyone in the distribution chain of the product (Wong 2010). The defendant may range from the manufacturer of the product to the seller or the lessor of the product. In addition, anyone who services the product or installs the product after purchase may stand liable in the event that the product is defective. Principally, the basis of action in a product liability litigation are the negligence, intent, strict liability, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, and general misrepresentation (Wong 2010). In practice, prosecutions in product liability have significantly relied on the Third Restatement of Torts, on section 402A

    Read More

  • Smokers Should Pay a Health Tax

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    Noel, Dix. “Defective Products: Abnormal Use, Contributory Negligence and Assumption of Risk” Vanderbilt Law Review. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002. 313-23. Print.

    Read More

  • Coca Cola Risk Analysis

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    The operation of the company involves some of the risks that it has to be aware of. The bottles can break due to mishandling, leading to losses in the company. The employees risk getting injured in the process of production, hampering their productivity, ultimately making the levels of operations difficult. The company risks losses in trying to compensate the employees who have had accidents. Employees need to operate under favourable conditions and this means that the company risk losing some of its employees if they feel their needs is not adequately met. The company might lose its customers if it produces goods that might not be consumers’ specifications. When customers opt for other products other than Coca-Cola’s, the company will become

    Read More

More about Escola V. Case Brief Essay

Open Document