Question

Given below is a statement of legal principle followed by a factual situation. Apply the principle to the facts and select the most appropriate answer.

Principle: Contractual liability is completely irrelevant to the existence of liability in tort (civil wrong).

Facts: X purchased a bottle of ginger-beer from a retailer. As she consumed more than 3/4 of the contents of the bottle, she found a decomposed remains of a snail in the bottle. After seeing the remains of a snail, she fell sick on the thought of what she consumed. She sued the manufacturer of the beer for negligence, though there is no contractual duty on the part of the manufacturer.

Options

• X cannot sue the manufacturer for negligence in the  absence of a contract

• X cannot sue the retailer 

• X can sue the manufacturer as he had a duty to take  care to see that bottles did not contain any other  substance than the beer and hence liable to have  broken that duty

• None of the above

Answer 1

X can sue the manufacturer as he had a duty to take care to see that bottles did not contain any other  substance than the beer and hence liable to have  broken that duty

Explanation:

The manufacturers of a commodity are under a duty of care for the products it sells to its consumers. The fact that the bottle of beer contained a snail makes the manufacturer liable.