Barnes v. Black & Decker Manufacturing Co.

On June 18, 1977, the plaintiff, Clifton Barnes, lost four fingers when he placed his hand in an electric lawn mower manufactured by the defendant,' Black & Decker Manufacturing Co. Barnes charged in his product liability action against Black & Decker that the mower was defective. At the close of the evidence, the trial court struck Black & Decker’s amended answer and entered a default judgment against Black & Decker on the issue of liability because the trial court believed that defense counsel had deliberately deceived the court in its production of a switch purporting to be “identical” to…