Rene Vincent Rodriguez v. Shells City

The plaintiff, Rene Vincent Rodriguez, appeals a final summary judgment in favor of the defendant, Shells City, Inc. On May 27, 1958, plaintiff was severely injured when a piece of a hard rubber disk, which was part of a sanding kit, disintegrated and flew into his eye. The sanding device had been purchased very shortly before the accident by the plaintiffs brother, Luis Rodriguez, from the defendant, Shells City, Inc., a large department store and supermarket. Luis assembled the kit which consisted of three parts - a small rubber disk about six inches in diameter, a sheepskin bonnet for buffing and a six inch piece of abrasive for sanding, and attached the said kit to an electric drill which was to operate the same. After assembly, Luis plugged the drill into an electrical wall socket in the garage of the home at which both he and the plaintiff resided. He then pressed the drill trigger to test the device when the hard rubber disk flew apart into three pieces, one of which struck the plaintiff in the eye while he was standing about three feet away.