Matthews v. Campbell Soup Co.
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
380 F. Supp. 1061 (1974)
- Written by Lauren Petersen, JD
Facts
Matthews (plaintiff) injured his teeth and gums on an oyster pearl in a can of Oyster Stew Soup made by the Campbell Soup Company (Campbell) (defendant). Matthews sued Campbell for damages based, first, on a theory that Campbell was strictly liable, and second, on a theory that Campbell negligently manufactured and labeled the oyster soup. Campbell moved for summary judgment. Campbell argued that Matthews must prove that the oyster soup was defective in order for strict liability to apply. Matthews could not do so because, under the foreign-natural doctrine, the oyster soup was not defective. The foreign-natural doctrine held that a defendant could not be held liable for injuries from substances natural to the food the defendant served if those substances were inadvertently left in the food.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Seals, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 803,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 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.
