Katherine Hessler, D.B.A. Dayton Hessler Company v. The Hillwood Manufacturing Company

Hillwood was the Ohio manufacturer of nails made of hardened and tempered steel for use in nailing wood to concrete. It sold a quantity of these nails to Hessler who owned and operated a retail hardware store in Syracuse, New York. Howard Kimberly purchased some of these nails at Hessler’s store. Kimberly drove one of the nails through wood into concrete by use of an ordinary hammer and the head end of the nail broke off and flew into his right eye destroying its sight. The nail broke at a place where it was cracked. The crack in the nail was longitudinal and was a defect in manufacture.…