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Zittrain Torts Playlist Spring 2018

Chad Emery and Laura Emery, for herself and as next friend to Chad Emery, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Federated Foods, Inc., West Coast Grocery Company and its successor-in-interest Super Valu Stores, Inc., Mark Sorenson, M.D., and Kidd & Company, Inc., Defendants and Respondents.

"The Toddlers Shouldn't Eat Marshmallows Case"

Aside from manufacturing and design defects, should courts hold manufacturer's liable for a "failure to warn" customers of the risks involved in the use of a product?

Plaintiff was a toddler who choked on marshmallows manufactured by the defendant, and thereby suffered severe brain damage. The bag the marshmallows came in had no labels identifying marshmallows as a choking hazard for young children. The plaintiff did not claim that the marshmallows were improperly manufactured or designed. Rather, the plaintiff claimed the defendant should be liable for failure to warn consumers that marshmallows are a choking hazard for young children.