Legal Foundation for Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Legal Foundation for Business - Essay Example This is because Part B creates a major background that can be used for the discussion of the application of the precedence from the Donghue V Stevenson case. Facts of the Case On the 26th of August, Mrs. May Donoghue, a Scottish widow went to a cafe with her friend and made some orders. Donoghue's friend ordered something else and Donoghue ordered a ginger beer. Donoghue's friend paid for the order. The cafe owner served Donoghue with the ginger beer which she poured from an opaque bottle to Donoghue's cup2. There was normal ginger beer in the cup and Donoghue drank it. However, when Donoghue's friend poured some more of the ginger beer, a decomposed snail came afloat. Donoghue fell ill form the sight of it and complained of abdominal pain. She was admitted to hospital a few days later and was diagnosed of gastroenteritis and shock3. Donoghue's friend took the details of the manufacturer of the ginger beer which led to Stevenson, the manufacturer. This led to a case against Stevenson in court. A case was filed against Stevenson and hearings begun in May 1929. Arguments in the Court Case In the case, Donoghue tried to get Stevenson to take responsibility for her sickness resulting from drinking the contaminated ginger beer and the emotional shock that came with it. Her argument was that Stevenson should have gone the extra mile to prevent injuries. However, Stevenson argued that since Donoghue was not the one who paid for the beer, there was no contract between Donoghue and himself. Also, there was no proof that Stevenson was negligent in delivering the ginger beer to the Donoghue. The court at the local level could not uphold Donoghue's case. Donoghue appealed to the Inner House in Scotland but the case could not be ruled in her favour. Donoghue went on and filed a gase in the House of Lords as a pauper in 19314. The House of Lords The House of Lords began to hear the case in 1932. The House of Lords had to decide between whether to hold Stevenson responsible f or the sickness and emotional pain that Donoghue suffered or not. It was clear that there was some kind of unfair injuries had been suffered by Donoghue. And it was also obvious that the injury was directly attributable to the decomposed snail in a ginger beer supplied by Stevenson. However, the fundamental laws could not directly link Stevenson to the issue because: 1. There was no contract between Donoghue and Stevenson since Donoghue did not pay for the ginger beer. 2. There was no evidence that Stevenson was negligent. There could be a chain of possibilities that could include other third parties who could potentially be responsible for the issue. The House of Lords, being the highest adjudicating body with some law making powers at that time had to decide on how to deal with the problem. They could set a precedence. However, such a precedence had to be sensitive to the broader society since it could be reapplied to other cases in the future. Thus, the five judges of the case sa t on the facts and took a decision. The submissions of the different judges were as follows: Lord Thankerton He identified that there was no contract between Donoghue and Stevenson and clearly, there was no duty of care between the parties. However, he conceded that a manufacturer brings himself a voluntary obligation of not harming a consumer. This obligation was to be upheld in order that a consumer can rely upon the diligence of the manufacturer without issues. This means that he identified