Question

Given below are Legal Principles followed by a Factual Situation. Apply the principles followed by a factual Situation. Apply the principle to it and select the most appropriate answer for question among the four choices given.
LEGAL PRINCIPLE: Contractual liability is completely irrevalent to the of existence of liability in tort.
FACTUAL SITUATION: A purchased a bottle of ginger-beer from a retailer. As she consumed more than 3/4th of the contents of the bottle, she found decomposed remains of a snail, she fell sick on the manufacturer of what she consumed. She sued the manufacturer of the beer for negligence, through there is no contractual duty on the part of the manufacturer.
DECIDE.

• A. 'A' cannot sue the retailer.
• B. 'A' cannot sue the manufacturer for negligence in the absence of a contract.
• C. 'A' can sue the retailer from whom she purchased the beer.
• D. 'A' can sue the manufacturer as he had a duty to take care to see that bottles did not contain any other substance than beer and hence liable for negligence of duty.

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

'A' can sue the manufacturer as he had a duty to take care to see that bottles did not contain any other substance than beer and hence liable for negligence of duty.

It was established in the case of Donoghue v Stevenson that tortious liability is independent of contractual laibility. In this case too the plaintiff had ordered for ginger beer which was found to contain a dead snail. She sued the manufacturer of the ginger beer bottle. The Court held that although there was no direct contract between the manufacturer and consumer, the manufacturer owed a duty of care towards the consumer and must ensure that reasonable care is taken to avoid any damage or loss to the consumer. Failure to do so results in tort of negligence although there is no contractual relation.