Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
C

Commonwealth v. Feinberg

211 Pa.Super. 100, 234 A.2d 913 (1967)

From our private database of 46,600+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Commonwealth v. Feinberg

Superior Court of Pennsylvania
211 Pa.Super. 100, 234 A.2d 913 (1967)

RW

Facts

Max Feinberg (defendant) sold home-use Sterno in his store, which was located in a derelict neighborhood. Although Sterno was manufactured for heating purposes, Feinberg knew that his mostly poor customers tended to use Sterno in making intoxicating drinks. Home-use Sterno contained a weak solution of methyl alcohol. To save money, Feinberg stopped selling home-use Sterno and started selling cheaper institutional-use Sterno. Feinberg was unaware that institutional-use Sterno contained a much stronger methyl-alcohol solution. However, Feinberg knew that, unlike home-use Sterno, institutional-use Sterno came in cans marked with a skull-and-crossbones and labelled: "Danger. Poison; Not for home use. For commercial and industrial use only." Feinberg did not call his customers' attention to these warnings. Over a few weeks, Feinberg sold 400 cans of the product to his customers, five of whom died of methyl-alcohol poisoning. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (plaintiff) successfully prosecuted Feinberg for involuntary manslaughter. Feinberg appealed to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Montgomery, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 834,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 834,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,600 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 834,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,600 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Criminal Law

Key Terms