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Schafer v. JLC Food Systems, Inc.

695 N.W.2d 570 (2005)

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Schafer v. JLC Food Systems, Inc.

Minnesota Supreme Court
695 N.W.2d 570 (2005)

EL

Facts

JLC Food Systems, Inc. (defendant) did business as Perkins Restaurant (Perkins) (defendant). Karen Schafer (plaintiff) ordered a muffin at Perkins. After Schafer swallowed her first bite, she felt a sharp pain in her throat. Schafer’s friend immediately told Perkins about Schafer’s problem and then rushed Schafer to a hospital. At the hospital, a doctor found a cut in Schafer’s throat. Two days later, Schafer returned to the hospital with a throat infection requiring a three-day hospital stay. Neither Schafer nor the doctors found the item that cut Schafer’s throat, but Schafer claimed the harm must have been due to a hard, sharp object in her muffin. Schafer argued that she should be able to use circumstantial evidence to establish her claim that the muffin was defective. Perkins conceded that circumstantial evidence can be used to establish a defective-food claim, but it claimed Schafer presented insufficient circumstantial evidence to allow the question to reach the jury. The trial court granted Perkins’s motion for summary judgment because Schafer could not identify the object that caused her injury. The appeals court affirmed the trial court’s ruling. Schafer appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Page, J.)

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