Bottomley V Bannister Case Study

A friend of Donoghue had purchased some ice cream and a bottle of ginger beer which was contained in a glass opaque bottle. The plaintiff had drunk some of the contents of the bottle after which, the friend poured the remainder into a glass. A decomposing snail came out with the content of the bottle. The plaintiff suffered from gastroenteritis as a result of this. Since her friend had purchased the ginger beer, Donoghue had no case in the law of contracts. Instead Donoghue sued under the tort of negligence which was rather uncommon and untested at the time. The case ended up at the High Court which ruled in favour of the claimant who argued that the manufacturer owed a duty of care to the end consumer and is liable for any injuries suffered by the plaintiff as a result of negligently manufacturing the product. Lord Atkins’ famous judgement known as ‘the neighbour principle’ laid the foundation of the modern law of negligence and defined and established a duty of care.

‘The rule that you are to love your neighbour becomes in law, you must not injure your neighbour and

The gas burner was not fitted with a flue which would have prevented a build of dangerous fumes. The plaintiff claimed that this was something that defendants ought to have known of this defect and warned any potential buyers. At common law, in the absence of a contract a landlord of an unfurnished house was not liable to his tenant, for defects in the house or land rendering it dangerous or unfit for occupation, even if the defects are due to his construction or are within his knowledge. After Donoghue V Stevenson, the plaintiffs could sue under the tort of