Landmark Cases
Donoghue v Stevenson
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Donoghue v Stevenson is a 1932 decision of the House of Lords, then the United Kingdom highest court of appeal, that established the modern law of negligence across common law jurisdictions. It arose after May Donoghue became ill after drinking ginger beer that allegedly contained a decomposed snail, bought for her by a friend, meaning she had no contract with the manufacturer and so, under the law as it then stood, no clear route to a remedy. Lord Atkin opinion articulated the neighbour principle, that a person owes a duty of care to anyone who could reasonably be foreseen as affected by their acts or omissions, laying the foundation for the modern tort of negligence.
Facts
Decision Year Decision Date HoldingHeld that a manufacturer owes a duty of care to the ultimate consumer of its product even absent a direct contract between them, establishing the neighbour principle as the basis of the modern law of negligence. Decided by the House of Lords, the United Kingdom highest court of appeal at the time. 1 Current StatusIn force; its neighbour principle remains foundational to negligence law across common law jurisdictions. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
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