Darlington and Darlington v. Mobrand Sales Ltd. and Motokov Canada Inc., (1981) 12 Man.R.(2d) 199 (CoCt)

• Court: Provincial Court of Manitoba (Canada)
• Case Date: July 03, 1981
• Jurisdiction: Manitoba
• Citations: (1981), 12 Man.R.(2d) 199 (CoCt)

Darlington v. Mobrand Sales (1981), 12 Man.R.(2d) 199 (CoCt)

MLB headnote and full text

Darlington and Darlington v. Mobrand Sales Ltd. and Motokov Canada Inc.

Indexed As: Darlington and Darlington v. Mobrand Sales Ltd. and Motokov Canada Inc.

Manitoba County Court

Krindle, C.C.J.

July 3, 1981.

Summary:

The plaintiffs sued the importer and retailer of a moped for damages suffered, when the moped exploded as a result of gasoline leakage.

The Manitoba County Court allowed the plaintiffs' action.

Torts - Topic 4327

Suppliers of goods - Products liability - Negligence - Manufacturers - Defective goods - The Manitoba County Court stated that the manufacturer of a moped owed a duty of care to see that the fuel tank fitting was properly seated to the gasket and the shutoff valve, so that gasoline could not escape - See paragraph 19.

Torts - Topic 4354

Suppliers of goods - Products liability - Negligence - Retailers and wholesalers - Sale of defective goods - The Manitoba County Court held that a retail dealer was negligent in selling mopeds, which it knew leaked gasoline and which it reasonably ought to have known created a potentially dangerous situation - See paragraphs 52 to 54.

Torts - Topic 4362

Suppliers of goods - Products liability - Negligence - Retailers and wholesalers - Duty to inspect goods sold - The Manitoba County Court held that a retail dealer was negligent in failing to exercise reasonable diligence in checking a moped for leaks of gasoline - See paragraph 53.

Torts - Topic 4310

Suppliers of goods - Products liability - Negligence - Importers - The Manitoba County Court stated that an importer of mopeds owed a duty to the consumer to see that its dealers were competent to perform at least a minimal pre-delivery inspection - See paragraph 55.

Torts - Topic 4310

Suppliers of goods - Products liability - Negligence - Importers - The Manitoba County Court held that an importer was negligent in failing to use reasonable diligence to correct a potentially dangerous problem with its goods, which it knew or reasonably ought to have known were being sold by a dealer unqualified to correct the problem - See paragraph 56.

Torts - Topic 4361

Suppliers of goods - Products liability - Negligence - Retailers and wholesalers - Duty - General - The Manitoba County Court stated that the duty of a retailer to a customer did not go so far as to create any strict or absolute liability for damage occasioned to the customer by goods sold by the retailer - See paragraph 51.

Cases Noticed:

Phillips et al. v. Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd., [1970] 2 O.R. 714, refd to. [para. 28].

Rae and Rae v. T. Eaton Co., 28 D.L.R. 522, refd to. [para. 51].

Andrews v. Hopkins, [1956] 3 All E.R. 422, appld. [para. 52].

Counsel:

Robert Graham, for the plaintiffs;

Tom Kirk, for defendant Motokov Canada Inc.;

Garth Reimer, for defendant Mobrand Sales Ltd.

This action was heard before KRINDLE, C.C.J., of the Manitoba County Court. The decision of KRINDLE, C.C.J., was delivered on July 3, 1981: