Law fo business (Individual) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law fo business (Individual) - Essay Example We also have Megastores in Cornwall, who supplied the toy to the retailer. And we have the Chen Organisation in China, who manufactured the toy. Also, it must be noted that Mrs. Sharma has two different causes of action, one based upon contract and one based upon torts. The tort cause of action is based upon product liability. The rule regarding product liability can be found in Donoghue v. Stevenson, a famous 1932 case that stated that was the first case to establish that a manufacturer of goods and services owes a duty of care to all consumers of the product. It is special to note that there is no need for privity, in other words, the duty of care is not just owed to the person to whom the the manufacturer has a contractual obligation. Such as in the case of Donaghue, the basic facts are that a patron of a soda shop drank a ginger beer that had the remains of a snail in the beer. She sued, and, even though she did not purchase the drink, she won. She did not have a special contractual relationship, but this was not dispositive in this case.1 While Donaghue grounded product liability actions in negligence theory, this is no longer the case. The rule regarding product liability is one of strict liability now. This rule began in 1936 with the case of Grant v. Australian Knitting Mills2, in which the defendant was held liable to the plaintiff for underwear that had too much sulphite, but Commission directives from the Pearson Commission was not enacted.3 These cases and directives led to the Consumer Protection Act 1987, which governs product liability now. This was promulgated to enact the European Community Directive on Liability for Defective Products 1985.4 The Consumer Protection Act 1987 (hereinafter â€Å"CPA†) states that â€Å"where any damage is caused wholly or partly by a defect in the product, every person to whom subsection (2) below applies shall be liable for the damage.†5 The act goes