PRINCIPLE: Negligence is a breach of duty or a failure of one party to exercise the standard of care required by law, resulting in damage to the party to whom the duty was owed. A plaintiff can take civil action against the respondent, if the respondent’s negligence causes the plaintiff injury or loss of property. FACTS: ‘V went to a cafe and ordered and paid for a tin/can of soft drink. The tin was opaque, and, therefore, the contents could not be seen from outside. She (‘D’) consumed some of the contents and then lifted the tin to pour the remainder of the content into a tumbler. The remains of a snail in decomposed state dropped out of the tin into the tumbler. ‘D’ later complained of a stomach pain and her doctor diagnosed her as having gastroenteritis and being in a state of severe shock. She sued the manufacturer of the drink for negligence. Applying the afore-stated principle, which of the following derivations is CORRECT as regards liability of the manufacturer in the given situation? (Answer the question after reading the following paragraph.)

Directions:. Each question consists of legal propositions/ principles (hereinafter referred to as ‘principle’) and facts. These principles have to be applied to the given facts to arrive at the most reasonable conclusion. Such principles may or may not be true in the real sense, yet you have to conclusively assume them to be true for the purposes of this section. In other words, in answering the following questions, you must not rely on any principles except the principles that are given herein below for every question. Further, you must not assume any facts other than those stated in the question. The objective of this section is to test your interest towards study of law, research aptitude and problem solving ability even if the ‘most reasonable conclusion’ arrived at may be unacceptable for any other reason. It is not the object of this section to test your knowledge of law.

Option A: The manufacturer is liable for negligence, as it owed a duty (to consumers) to take reasonable care to ensure that its products are safe for consumption

Option B: The manufacturer is not liable for negligence, as there is no direct contract between ‘D’ and the manufacturer. No duty is owed by the manufacturer towards a particular consumer (‘D’)

Option C: The manufacturer is not liable for negligence because it would otherwise become very difficult for the manufacturers to do business

Option D: The manufacturer could be made liable under criminal law, but not for tort of negligence.

Correct Answer

Option: a

Explanation

Negligence is the breach of a legal duty to take care which results in damage, undesired by the defendant to the plaintiff.

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