Handy v. Anderson Explosives, Inc.

In this action for property damage allegedly sustained by the plaintiff homeowners from blasting operations of the defendant, the trial judge’s ultimate conclusion was expressed as follows: “The Court finds the only way it (sic) could cause such damage at such distance would be negligent blasting by the defendant.” The quoted language is tantamount to an erroneous ruling that the principle of res ipsa loquitur may be relied on in this case to overcome the absence of direct evidence or reasonable inferences of negligence.2

The following facts emerge from the Report as either agreed upon or open…