Bennett v. International Shoe Co.

AGEE, J.

In this personal injury action brought by a practicing physician against, defendant International Shoe

[798]

Company, the manufacturer of Florsheim shoes, a pair of which the doctor bought a.t a retail store and which allegedly-had soles so smooth and glossy that he was caused to slip and fall, the trial court granted a nonsuit at the conclusion of plaintiff’s case and this appeal followed.

Appellant’s cause of action is based upon the strict tort liability of a manufacturer that arises “when an article he places on the market,

knowing that it is to be used without inspection for defects,

proves to have a defect that causes injury to a human being.”

(Greenman

v.

Yuba Power Products, Inc.

(1963) 59 Cal.2d 57, 62 [27 Cal.Rptr. 697, 377 P.2d 897, 13 A.L.R.3d 1049] ; italics added.) To establish the manufacturer’s liability it is sufficient that plaintiff prove that he was injured while using the article or product “in a way it was intended to be used as a result of a

defect in design

and manufacture

of which plaintiff was not

aware[

1

] that made the . . . [product] unsafe for its intended use.”

(Greenman, supra,

p. 64; italics added.)

Appellant’s second amended complaint, upon which he went to trial, alleges in substance: that on June 7, 1963 appellant purchased a pair of Florsheim shoes from a retail store in Daly City; that the shoes were placed on the market by respondent knowing that they would be used without inspection for defects; that appellant did not in fact inspect the shoes for defects; that the shoes were defective in that their soles were so slippery as to make it unsafe for a wearer thereof to walk safely; that by reason thereof appellant was caused to slip and fall and sustain injuries to his person.