NIKKI COREY, APPELLANT,
v.
SUNAR LIMITED, APPELLEE
PER CURIAM.
Affirmed.
JORGENSON, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. This is a products liability case involving a file cabinet which, in deviation from a designed-in safety feature, tipped over and fell onto the plaintiff. The trial court directed a verdict for the defendant on strict liability. In my view this was error. I would adopt the well-reasoned opinion of Judge Ervin in Cassisi v. Maytag Co., 396 So. 2d 1140 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). As Judge Ervin points out, a legal inference sufficient to establish a prima facie case for jury consideration of strict liability arises when a product malfunctions during normal operation. The plaintiff asserted such a defect and was entitled to have a jury consider that issue. I would therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with the rule delineated in Cassisi.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Parke v. Scotty's, Inc., 584 So. 2d 621 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)…o prove that its black color was a defect, or to shift the burden of proof to the defendants, since there was evidence that the plaintiff had misused the product, citing Cassisi. Id. at 995, footnote 11. Appellee also relies on Corey v. Sunar, Ltd., 446 So. 2d 145 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), as a case rejecting the Cassisi inference. In fact, Corey is a Per Curiam “Affirmed” decision without a majority opinion. The dissenting judge cited Cassisi; there is no explanation of the basis for the majority’s decision. We f…
Authorities Cited
- Cassisi v. The Maytag Co., 396 So. 2d 1140 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)