McLane v. Northwest Natural Gas Co.
Oregon Supreme Court
255 Or. 324, 467 P.2d 635 (1970)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
Lorence McLane (Lorence) was preparing to assist with the insulation of a storage tank for natural gas owned by Northwest Natural Gas Co. (Northwest) (defendant) when some gas entered the storage tank and caused an explosion. Lorence was killed. The administratrix of Lorence’s estate, Devonna McLane (Devonna) (plaintiff), brought a wrongful-death action against Northwest. The trial judge found that the storage of natural gas was not an abnormally dangerous activity because, if reasonable care was exercised, there was minimal risk of an explosion. This prevented the applicability of strict liability to the case. The court found in favor of Northwest. Devonna appealed. The Oregon Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Holman, J.)
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