| Venue: | CA SC |
| Facts: | Coke bottle blows up, (unlearned) hand is injured. |
| Posture: | Verdict for plaintigg at trial. Appeal. |
| Issue: | Res ipsa? |
| Holding: | Yes. Affirmed. |
| Rule: | Res ipsa applies if a defendant has exclusive control over the thing causing the injury, and an accident of such nature would not ordinarily occur except for negligence by the defendant. |
| Reasoning: | This explosion is caused either by excessive pressure in the bottle or a defect in the bottle or both. You wouldn't get excessive pressure without negligence. And the bottles are tested at the factory for defects, so they weren't risky when they were delivered to the defendant. So looks like there was probably negligence. |
| Dicta: | Trayor (concurring): Manufacturers should have absolute liability-- it doesn't make sense to hold them liable only when there's negligence. That's needlessly circuitous when the outcome we want is that consumers are insured against injury. |