Lebourdais v. Vitrified Wheel Co.
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort by a workman in a factory for personal injuries caused by the bursting of a defective emery wheel manufactured and sold in the open market by the defendant and purchased by the plaintiff’s employer.
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Tort by a workman in a factory for personal injuries caused by the bursting of a defective emery wheel manufactured and sold in the open market by the defendant and purchased by the plaintiff’s employer. Writ dated May 9,1905. The declaration as amended was as follows: “ And the plaintiff says that the defendant is a corporation conducting the business of manufacturing and selling emery wheels; that on or about Thursday, February 24, 1905, the plaintiff, while working for the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, at Lowell, Massachusetts, and being entirely in the exercise of due care in the…
1Opinion of the CourtBraley, J.
The manufacturer of an article of merchandise which he puts upon the market ordinarily is not responsible in damages to those who may receive injuries caused by its defective construction, but to whom he sustains no contractual relations, although by the exercise of reasonable diligence he should have known of the defect. If such an extended liability attached where no privity of contract exists it would include all persons however remote who had been damaged either in person or property by his carelessness, and manufacturers as a class would be exposed to such far reaching consequences as to…
2Cases cited11 opinions
- Wellington v. Downer Kerosene Oil Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1870
- Oulighan v. ButlerMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1905
- Clifford v. Atlantic Cotton MillsMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1888
- Norton v. SewallMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1870
- Carter v. TowneMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1868
6 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by41 opinions
- Carter v. Yardley & Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1946
- Guinan v. Famous Players-Lasky Corp.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1929
- Leavitt v. Fiberloid Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1907
- Bergeron v. ForestMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1919
- Gearing v. BerksonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1916
36 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.