Law, Business, and Society 9th Edition by Tony McAdams

Exercise 22

Sometimes things happen that businesses can neither prevent noreven explain and yet liability may attach. For example, imagine you are operating a clothing store. A customer enters and decides to try on a pair of slacks. You show her to the dressing room. Soon after, you hear a scream from the room. As it turns out, your customer has been bitten by a spider. Not surprisingly, she thinks the blame lies with your store. She sues, but her negligence and breach of warranty claims are rejected by the court. (Can you explain why she loses) Finally, she raises a strict liability in tort argument, but the court denies that claim also. Read the overview of strict liability that follows and think about why the court denied her claim. See Flippo v. Mode O'Day Frock Shops of Hollywood, 449 S.W.2d 692 (Ark. S. Ct. 1970).