Florida District Courts of Appeal, 1983

Corey v. Sunar Ltd.

Corey v. Sunar Ltd.
Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided October 18, 1983 · Barkdull, Jorgenson, Nesbitt
446 So. 2d 145; 1983 Fla. App. LEXIS 27783 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Corey v. Sunar Ltd.

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

Affirmed.

Dissenting Opinion

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.

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