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Phillips v. Town of West Springfield

540 N.E.2d 1331, 405 Mass. 411 (1989)

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Phillips v. Town of West Springfield

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
540 N.E.2d 1331, 405 Mass. 411 (1989)

RW

Facts

A high-school cafeteria in the town of West Springfield, Massachusetts (the town) (defendant) served senior Michael Phillips (plaintiff) a lunch of cube-sized white-breast turkey meat with gravy, peas, and mashed potatoes. Unbeknownst to Phillips, a piece of turkey bone was included in one of the cubes. The bone lodged in Phillips’ throat, injuring his esophagus and requiring Phillips to be hospitalized. Phillips sued the town for damages. The trial court ruled that: (1) for Phillips to expect bite-sized white turkey meat to be bone-free was subjectively reasonable, but objectively and as an ordinary consumer, Phillips should have expected a bone; and (2) the bone was not a foreign substance, but a natural substance that did not render the meal unwholesome. The trial court entered judgment for the town on the grounds that Phillips failed to prove that the town breached its warranty of merchantability. Phillips appealed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Wilkins, J.)

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