Tort Law

Traditionally, contract law was the only common-law remedy people had for consumer-related legal problems. A principal shortcoming with this situation was that consumers had no recourse if they suffered a loss cause by a party they hadn't actually contracted with.

For example, if a manufacturer made a product and sold it to a merchant, and you bought it from the merchant, your contract would be only with the merchant, not the manufacturer. If the product proved defective or, worse yet, if you were injured by it because of some flaw, the only person you could take legal action against was the merchant. But the merchant could deny any responsibility for the faulty manufacture of the product, leaving you, the consumer, with absolutely no legal means of getting compensation. The situation was even worse if a friend or family member was injured because that person would be even farther removed from the contractual relationship.

All this changed in 1932 with the decision of England's highest court in the famous case of Donoghue v. Stevenson . This case established that a manufacturer owes a duty of care to anyone who buys its products or who could reasonably be expected to use those products, whether or not a contract existed between them. This principle, central to what is called the law of negligence (an area of tort ) law, means that a consumer who's harmed by a flaw in a product can take the manufacturer to court for compensation.

Congratulations

Congratulations on completing Property Law! We hope you have enjoyed taking this course and that you have found it both interesting and rewarding. If you have, perhaps you'll consider taking another Legal Studies course in the future.